Zombie Road: Convoy of Carnage By David A. Simpson (Audiobook) FULL

this is audible zombie road convoy of carnage written by david a simpson narrated by eric a shellman prologue if you would have a seat here sir the man indicated a comfortable chair pulled up to a simple plank table we can get the microphone set up for you he sat heavily and looked around his living room at all the people gathered and watching him most of them with various instruments to aid in the recording process what do you want me to say he asked a little uncomfortable with everyone standing around more than he was used to seeing high in the mountains especially in his own home but you were a hard man to find we have talked to everyone else who've been able to contact about the early years the smiling man said this isn't really an interview we just want you to tell us what you remember just tell us a story like you were talking to friends tell us what you can and with the trove of video we found from one of the survivors we hope we can assemble an accurate picture of the times you understand it's kind of hard to separate the legend from the fact after all these years right he asked i can't tell the difference in what was real and what i remember is real sometimes yes sir it has been a long time but we're pretty sure we have all the facts correct we just want to add the human side of the story wherever we can we want to get a feel for the people who were there and how they felt why they did some of the things they did is this gonna be a movie or something the old man asked we don't have that kind of technology not to do it properly we hope to lay out the definitive history of the fall in a book perhaps two or three if we've gathered enough of the human element to tie all the dry statistics together we hope to write a compelling story not just another history book the old man smiled well some of the things i remember nobody will believe anyway it's all true but some of it may not have happened he took a sip of water and started talking chapter one the three flags truck stop day one september gunny came through the glass doors of the garage and into the long corridor that would lead him to the dining area of the three flags truck stop he had just brought his old peterbilt into the bay for an oil change and was now looking forward to the morning's first cup of coffee and whatever the breakfast special from the kitchen happened to be he glanced to his right when the gym doors opened and a heavily built man came out a towel draped around his neck wiping the sweat from his great bald head hey tany he said in greeting you eat yet i'm headed for ciao tiny ironically named because of his bulk flashed a smile that seemed to glow out of his ebony face hey gunny he rumbled yeah i headed there myself something wrong with your pete no just a service tommy put one of the mechanics on it you and scratch still running veggies out of the valley they walked down the long corridor catching up on each other's lives since they had last crossed paths a few months earlier they ambled by the various shops and stores of the old truck stop most still closed at this early hour the barber shop the laundromat the cutting edge knife shop the cb shop the freight broker's offices and docks place among the many that cater to the professional drivers old cobb gave these little shops low rental rates because of the smell of 90 weight gear oil and the sound of impact wrenches was more prevalent near the workshop the three flags truck stop had been around almost as long as the highway it was named after route 395 at one time a main north-south road ran from san diego all the way up to the canadian border hence the three flags destination of the three countries that joined together the truck stop had been established in the 50s by old cobb's dad a world war ii vet who went on to drive trucks after the big one and saw a need for a good place for truckers to refuel both themselves and their rigs the land was cheap up north of reno it was nothing but scrub and no one else wanted it so using the benefits of his gi bill he bought nearly 200 acres along route 395 and business was good he expanded rapidly during the boom years of the 50s and 60s buying up used army quonset huts for his buildings and simply putting in long banks of government surplus windows on one side to let in natural light so they wouldn't feel so claustrophobic he used a small airplane hangar as his main building and had a wing off one side for his mechanic shop and a wing off the other side for his wife's diner his wife ran the kitchen cobb ran the workshop and he hired other vets many of them damaged from the war to help him run his business when the new freeways came in business slowed they managed to hang on but there were some lean times for a number of years when cobb jr took over when he retired from the marines he brought the old truck stop into the modern times he convinced some of the local artisans and ventners to sell their wares to draw in tourists with some internet advertising and savvy marketing as the oldest truck stop in nevada it became the place to stop and see a little roadside americana there was a huge junkyard out behind the shop where wrecked and worn out trucks sat dating all the way back to the 40s and 50s from their towing and recovery service he even had a half dozen of those trucks with the big sleepers moved up to a little area where he cleaned and polished them so they looked like new and rented them out on airbnb for 40 bucks a night old cobb left all the way to the bank it was a family business and the pride they took in it showed in a lot of small ways as gunny and tiny made their way through the quonset hut they saw a cob coming out of the shower area pushing a mop and bucket gob when you go and put in some moving sidewalks like they got in vegas in this place tiny grumbled it gotta be a mile from the gym to the donner old man cobb squinted at him through his one good eye with a grizzled voice that was partly from lucky strikes and partly from a piece of shrapnel to the throat he had picked up in the caisson valley he spat out looks like you could use the exercise squib but you navy boys ain't used to that morning cobb gunny said grinning at the age-old rivalry of the services gunny cob nodded you need to hit that gym too you're getting as flabby as him i'm just going after some breakfast maybe next time he said knowing full well he wasn't planning on lifting lumps of metal any time soon he gets plenty exercise navy style tiny grinned we call him 12-ounce curls as he mimic drinking a cold beer yeah i can see looks like he had plenty of burritos to go with those brews he added poking at tiny's not so tiny stomach speaking of food martha's been making up some blueberry pies and pancakes last couple of days got a crate of fresh ones that fell off the truck make sure you try some thought you said i was fat tiny said and now you want me to eat pie well don't eat none then cobb rasped out i'll just tell you think you're cooking ain't no good tiny threw his hands up i gassed don't you dare cobb you tell her that she won't feed me for a month cobb laughed quietly and chewed them on gone get out of here can't you see man's trying to work he said and turn back to his mopping and walk on the edge near the window it'll be dry by now he barked out they continued taking a left into the main hut that was massive enough to have an old airplane suspended from the ceiling with a rounded height of more than 30 feet it housed the touristy attractions and the video arcade along with the souvenir shops and main c-store that sold you everything you'd expect in a well-stocked convenience store and tourist trap there was a pretty good selection of trucker related items too electronics and load straps and log books along with the audio books dvd multi-packs and rattlesnake eggs as they passed the arcade they looked in and saw an intense young man wielding a plastic shotgun blasting away at never-ending hordes of zombies they both looked at each other and smiled gunny opened the door and they both shambled toward him arms outstretched moaning in their best zombie whales and groans brains he spun like lightning twisting at the waist feet never moving orange plastic shotgun to his shoulder boom boom dead you flesh bags he yelled out targeting each one of them then turned back to his game but it was too late the screen was counting down demanding more money if he wanted to continue ah piss he said in aggravation i was on the last level before the boss fight come on scratch gunny said we just saved you from yet another slow painful death besides martha's got blueberry pancakes no thanks do you ass wipes he grumbled you're buying this damn game costs two bucks to play cobb's getting rich off of me where you running today tiny ass changing the subject scratch put the plastic gun back into its holster and turned grabbing his jacket off the unused pac-man machine with the metal claw from his prosthetic left arm supposed to take this load of winter squash down to sacramento but dispatch has me in a holding pattern here they want to verify with the warehouse before they send me in verify what tiny asked either they ordered them or they didn't what's so hard about that scratch stopped at the glass door gunny was holding open and looked at them haven't you heard what's going on he asked they looked at each other then back at him tiny shrugged no i don't watch the news is it that mecca thing that mecca thing scratch snorted that happens every year kenny said i've been on a little more binge this week got me a bunch of audio books from the library when i was home jeez scratch said and shook his head two hermits ever get out of your trucks and talk to people i don't like people tiny quietly rumbled i don't even like you you're ugly and your mother dresses you funny they were walking through the tourist areas making their way to the doors of the diner scratch's metal arm fully exposed in a short-sleeved shirt jacket slung over his shoulder a young college-aged couple with their carefully matched second-hand store clothes and scarves looked at them in indignation they were browsing the authentic navajo jewelry and heard what tiny said they saw the young man's missing arm and shot daggers at the big man for being so insensitive tiny didn't notice gunny didn't care and scratch was used to it people taking umbrage on his behalf since he was a but they were all former servicemen navy marines army it didn't matter if you weren't continually insulting each other it meant you didn't care he was like most people with a disability just wanted to be treated like one of the guys come on it'll be all over the news in the diner man something is making people go crazy there have been riots in nearly every city hell it's worldwide according to alex how long since you turned on your radio gunny was starting to get an uneasy feeling in his gut he thought wracking his brain when was the last time he'd watched the news he left the house a little over a week ago and talked to his wife lacy a few times and got onto his teenager about homework and chores once he really hadn't had the radio or cb on except for traffic checks since he picked up his load in maine more than a week he'd been burning through the days listening to tales of the old west and gunslingers and indian raiding parties warriors of yesteryear he got like that sometimes one of his moods as lacey would say just waiting to shut the world out and live in his own bubble the news was always the same anyway always depressing a cop shot someone and there were protests in the streets some terrorists blew something up some politician was doing shady stuff stocks were up stocks were down some celebrity was getting married or divorced the war in the middle east never ended north korea was saying they were going to nuke somebody it seemed that the only thing that changed were the names of the people involved but riots in every city the last news he had watched back home that all the talking heads were excited about was the big announcement by the salaam meat packing factories it was a muslim-owned company and they were going to start selling pork products to the world during this year's hajj this was to show the world that muslims were a peaceful people and were in opposition to the terrorists but in reality gunny figured it was just a way to get their halal products on the store shelves without any backlash from people who didn't want to see them at the local grocery they were going to release all these pork products when most of the muslim population in the world went to mecca for their pilgrimage probably so some high imam would calm the masses and tell them allah said it was okay kind of like jesus did in the new testament when he told the israelites that it was all right to eat pork gunny figured it was just a marketing move it didn't matter what your religion was for a multinational corporation in the end it came down to making money it was all about the bottom line but if it brought islam into the 21st century he was okay with that maybe it would help stop isis give them one less reason to chop your head off he didn't hate all of the muslims like some of the vets did even though he'd killed his fair share of them he'd met a lot of good folks over there but were people so pissed off about it they were protesting in the streets he doubted it it wasn't that big of a deal that was capitalism maybe it would bring the price of bacon down he knew scratch wasn't prone to hysterics even though they had only known each other for a few years he'd lost his arm in afghanistan when a couple of ak rounds had done too much damage to repair that story came out late one night at the poker table behind the mechanic shop the one the tourists didn't go to or even know about as old soldiers tend to do when they were together and the whiskey flowed the talk turned to war stories and battle scars scratch said they'd been under heavy fire after multiple ieds had trapped his convoy even with his arm half blown off the bone shattered to fragments he was still able to man the 50 while the medic put on a tourniquet that was one cool customer gunny had thought as he lost another 40 bucks but if his tales were coming from alex jones then maybe they could be dismissed everybody knew alex tended to add a lot of hyperbole to the facts right i mean he was famous for all his conspiracy theories he didn't talk about aliens or chupacabras mostly politics and corruption and corrupt politics so he had plenty to talk about as they headed to the diner scratch filled them in on what little he had heard but people are acting weird man it all happened a few days ago it's like somebody spiked the water with bath salt or flakka or spice or something people are like eating people's faces it's mostly in the big cities but i read on the net that it's all over the place ah tiny said dismissively it's gotta be just hype just another internet thing they passed the missing man table that was cordoned off with velvet ropes that cobb had probably stolen from a bank somewhere and they all fell quiet for a few paces all three paying a silent tribute in their own way to the empty chair the small round table draped in a white linen cloth had been there ever since gunny had discovered this out of the way truck stop when he first saw it he knew he was at a good place the chair at the table was empty symbolizing all the soldiers who would never be coming home again the red rose in the vase was always fresh never plastic the lemon slice and the salt on the plate representing bitterness and tears of the family were changed twice a day by martha herself there were a couple of honor boxes hanging on the wall cobb's dad cobbs and his son tommies the flags in them tightly folded into triangles the metals proudly displayed if you knew how to read them one look and you could tell the type of man you were dealing with old cobb put on a crotchety and cantankerous attitude a crusty old bastard who only cared about making money but when you looked at his medals the silver star his purple hearts his drill instructor's ribbon had told a different story a story of heroism and bravery of sacrifice for his fellow marines if you watched him around his wife or the grandkids you saw the soft side of him he might treat drivers like there were raw recruits on their first day at paris island sometimes but he never barked at her behind the missing man table there were three rifles bayonets affixed muzzles down in a small rectangular plot of dirt with the period correct battle helmets perched atop the shoulder stocks there was an m1 garand an m16 and an m4 each representing their own era of american fighting men behind that in a sturdy case against the wall was a glass fronted box half filled with coins with all proceeds go to the veterans written across the front of it there was an o scale train track that ran right over the top of the box and around the entire circumference of the diner near the ceiling it wound its way through the walls into the main quonset hut and down to table level in an area near the arcade room cobb had cleverly modified the trains to look like semi trucks and the tracks to look passively like roads so instead of train yards modeled on the extensive tabletop layout there were buildings and loading docks and model trucks and cars in the miniature town he had built a funnel for pocket chains on the loading docks so the children could drop in their coins when one of the semi trucks with the custom-made hopper came by it would tip the level dumping the money into its trailer the trucks ran a continuous loop around the c store and over the missing man table where they would trigger the bottom release and dump their load of coins into the box for the veterans the kids loved it they followed their chosen truck around to watch it dump squealing with delight and ran back to parents asking for more change the parents didn't mind they kept the kids busy so they could browse and it was for a good cause cobb liked it because he kept a steady stream of money coming into the box and he gave it to where it was needed whether to the pow mia groups the wounded warrior project or to some vet whom he knew needed a little help it was too early for the kids to be up and active so the trucks rolled quietly by on their never-ending journey as he entered martha's diner cobb's vietnamese wife's real name wasn't martha though when gunny had asked cobb what it really was one day he growled out that he couldn't pronounce it and it sounded like martha so that's what her name was and that gunny should mind his own business and he should see the barber over in driver's alley because he was looking mighty scruffy and that his truck was dirty and he needed to take that rolling scrap heap around to the truck wash to get cleaned up some so as to quit disgracing his parking lot with it then he walked out of the diner saying something to her in very fluent vietnamese the cafe was already starting to fill up with the early birds there were a few dozen people in the main dining area families with sleepy-eyed kids or couples on a scenic day trip up to the mountains guests from the airbnb trucks a couple of cowboys at the counter drinking their coffee couple of bike riders wearing full leathers with their crotch rockets parked out front getting ready to go carve up the mountain it was going on 7 30 and the professional drivers only area was already half full with men working on their breakfast platters and bottomless cups of coffee although the conversation was sparse gunny knew most of them by name or at least their cb handles and there were nods of acknowledgement and half raised coffee cup salutes as they made their way over to a booth by the windows looking out over the gas pumps they were a motley looking bunch the men and women in the drivers area they weren't scary looking men in an outlaw biker gang sense but these were indeed some quietly hard men most were 40-ish callous hands and laugh lines cowboy hats or steel-toed boots jeans of course the type of men who held doors open for people whether man or woman men who would say please and thank you and ma'am men who would apologize if they bumped into you at a crowded bar or offered to buy you another drink if they spilled some of yours but men whose hold on their bottle would innocuously go from a grip to sip beer to a grip to wield a weapon if you were unwise enough to push the issue into a confrontation men who wouldn't back down owner operators most of them men who owned their trucks and took pride in them spent money on extra lights and lots of chrome these men hauled heavy and oversized live cattle and swinging beef there were the guys who strapped loads of steel with hundred pound tarps and logging chains and blistering july heat they slung iron and rolled through the mountains on chained up tires when the snows were piling up and the other drivers were hunkered down in the truck stops most were bearded tattooed in former military men who couldn't stand being cooped up in an office or warehouse men who wouldn't tolerate having a boss looking over their shoulder are telling them what to do some because that's just how they were built some because they suffered varying degrees of ptsd and knew they were better off away from people for the most part men who got out of the service and couldn't hold down a normal job so they turned to trucking the career choice had probably saved a lot of marriages also a team of psychiatrists would have a field day diagnosing them with everything from oppositional defiant disorder to excessive patriotic zeal america had been at war in the middle east for over 20 years and nearly everyone that sat in the driver's area had done his time over there they'd seen death up close and personal and now they knew the importance of living life not just going through the motions they rode america's highways and saw what there was to see getting off the four lane and onto the small roads whenever they could these were the men who took the time to stop and help a stranded motorist change a tire or give them a ride to the gas station some of the older guys had even taken part in the trucker wars back in the 70s they were the old school knights of the road who tolerated all the new laws and regulations that came down every year when they were tolerable and ignored them when they weren't in short they were men who could take care of business and it didn't matter what the business might be the few ladies in the crowd were just as tough if in a different way they had to be in order to be accepted their nails weren't long and painted their hair was usually shorter in a ponytail they had to be able to drive better than most men because when they pulled up to a dock more often than not a small crowd would gather to watch them back in some expecting them to take five or six attempts to get it right so they could look at each other and smile knowingly gunny slid over against the window and scratch plopped down beside him leaving tiny room to spread his bulk out on the other side of the booth check that out scratch pointed out the window to a gleaming red ferrari parked at the main entrance man i'm gonna have one of those someday you gonna be as big an ass as he is tiny ass in the handicapped spot maybe he's got a dose of affluenza scratch laughed back gunny grabbed the menus slotted behind the condiments rack and passed him out announcing i'm having a special when i don't care what it is it's always good the tv was usually muted with the weather channel on something that affected all the drivers today the volume was up not loud but enough to be heard over the quiet clinking of silverware and coffee cups and they turned to watch it as they settled in it was a local channel the reno morning show which usually didn't cover a lot of hard news it was the early morning friendly banter cooking tips and today's weather show with a healthy dose of celebrity gossip thrown in there was a banner running across the bottom of the screen stating viewer discretion is advised and they kept using the same footage over and over of some extremely violent protesters or rioters attacking people it was a long distance shot and shaky but it got the point across it was brutal to watch and it left the three speechless for a few moments when the show's hosts came on again they were talking about out of control gangs and police budget cuts and whatever else they could come up with off the top of their heads when they really didn't know anything the two local personalities seemed completely out of their depth trying to cover something so deadly serious damn tiny said quietly you see that guy just body slammed that girl had to break bones that hurt me just watching it i didn't take hits that hard when i played ball we had pads on that ain't normal scratch said why don't they have cnn or fox on gunny asked the feed is out scratch said i asked the same thing when i was in here earlier none of the cable channels are working gunny fell silent just watching the film loop and ignoring the chatter of the anchors and their guests do you see that yes suddenly watch in the background of the far left see that body with the guts hanging out that guy's dead has to be now watch the body was still as they stared at the tv the camera fully zoomed in from a balcony overlooking the street from the looks of it it was shaky the operator obviously frightened the main focus was of some guy in a suit jumping up from yet another bloody man writhing on the ground he plowed into a screaming woman at full bore as hard as he could knocking her out of camera view but in the corner of the frame just for a scant second the gutted man in the background started to sit up the film ended abruptly and started looping again dude that's whack why'd they cut it there scratch demanded i'm telling you man alex is right they're covering something up it probably just got way too bloody they can't show that stuff on tv tiny said there was rigor mortis or something somebody grabbing them folks with the insides hanging out don't sit up kim lee rattled a plate of toast and three cups down on the table and started filling them from her coffee pot you boys know what you want she asked whipping out her order pad her perky midwestern accent a surprise to anyone who had never heard her speak before most people assumed she would sound like she looked vietnamese hey did you see jimmy winchell over there she continued not giving them a chance to speak and obviously excited pointing with her pencil to a handsome 30-something cowboy sitting with a few of his friends at the counter i'll be said gunny he's on tour is he playing in reno quickly shifting mental gears from the weird news footage to everyday small talk i don't know i can't ask him that kim said slightly flustered it was obvious to all that she was crushing on him who's jimmy winchell tiny and scratched deadpanned tiny you ain't got no excuse i know you like country music and scratch well your brain is melted from all that heavy metal screamo noise you listen to she scolded them he's only the biggest country music star ever bigger than johnny cash ass scratch bigger than charlie pride tiny joined in she gave them the stink eye and they bantered back and forth for a few minutes while she took their orders then she was off to freshen up more coffee cups and take care of her other tables better not let old cobb catch you staring at his granddaughter's ass tiny told scratch i wasn't he quickly said turning back to face the table i was checking out the superstar oh uh huh tiny laughed gunny sighed heavily and glared at his phone when he felt them looking at him he glanced up i can't get through was going to call home see if the missus has heard about any of this stuff down near us try texting scratch said while stuffing his face with butter toast that is if you know how it will go through even when voice won't gunny gave him the bird then opened the messenger app on his phone he sent a quick note then got busy buttering his own toast tiny grunted and set his phone down i can't get through either who should carry verizon gunny said you at t tiny replied opening a jelly packet i got plenty of bars strong signal call won't go through though i'm getting an all-circuit's busy message i didn't even get that gunny said just running a few times and disconnected scratch dug his phone out of his pocket and tried to call his dispatcher again but also got nothing they don't pay me to sit around i need to know what they want me to do he said i'll run this freight in i ain't worried some jacked up crackhead tries to mess with me he'll meet mr hook he snapped the claws with his left arm together quickly what you gonna do clap at him tiny ass stick your finger in there and feel the clap scratch retorted holding the ominous looking claw wide open no thanks tany said dryly old lady'd kill me if i came home with a case of vd gunny laughed shook his head you walked right into that one he said they passed the time waiting for their breakfasts watching the looping newsreel and speculating about what was going on the overheard snatches of conversation from other tables with the same questions and concerns they all had kenny turned in the booth addressing the next table over hey firecracker did you just come up from the shaky he knew the man had a dedicated route running raw cabinets from la to salt lake city every week he figured if there were madness going on it would be heaviest down there yeah it did gunny but there wasn't anything going on down there when i left yesterday i mean anything worse than normal he amended that we headed no i'm going to the gay bay this news has got me starting to get worried now wondering if it's safe to get in can't say man i'm headed to salty city maybe check with wire bender see if he has contact with anybody there yeah good idea gunny said i'll check after grub thanks that is a good idea scratch chimed in when does he open up nobody wanted to drive into a city that was having riots in the streets and road closures from protesters they all remembered reginald denney the driver who was drug out of his truck and pummeled mercilessly during the la riots years ago all of it caught on film and played over and over again until it was ingrained in every trucker if a situation like that came up locked the doors and hit the gas it'd probably be open by the time we're finished eating tiny said he keeps early hours half the time he just rocks out on that cat he has set up in there out of the window they saw the county sheriff's car pull past the gas pumps and into one of the parking spots in front of the building good maybe he knows what's going on tiny said and heard the same thing chorus from a few other tables at the window a lot of the drivers had tried their phones and only a few had gotten through it was troubling and the concern in the room was starting to ratchet up kim lee brought the plates over and passed them out then started refilling their cups hey this isn't that bacon is it scratch ass eyeing it suspiciously you could take it back if it is i ain't eating that crap kim cocked her head and looked at him hard never spilling a drop going from one cup to the other with the steaming coffee pot you forget where you're at scratch she asked you'd think pawpaw would serve that here and you owe a dollar to the cuss jar what he sputtered crap's not a cuss word that's two bucks and yes it is she smiled sweetly everybody's learned not to curse in here anymore so we've expanded the unacceptable words list damn that's extortion scratch said under his breath digging out his wallet to put the money into her outstretched hand three bucks want to go for an even five she said snapping her fingers i've got my eye on a new purse i need he just smiled grimly and made his zipping motion across his lips as tiny and gunny snickered at him he held up his claw to them as she walked away and asked guess which finger i'm holding up right now the sheriff's deputy came in looking a bit harried and quickly walked up to the counter martha was behind it at the coffee urns filling up another filter with fresh ground she glanced over her shoulder and asked her in her accent in english you want breakfast not today he said can you give me a dozen sausage and egg biscuits for the office i've called everyone in and some of them just got off shift an hour ago martha yelled back to cookie who manned the grill you here she asked chop chop me first coming right up he hollered back over the den of the sizzling griddle on the dirty dishes being loaded into the dishwasher deputy billy chavajo was a lean rangy man sun baked by the nevada summers his shoshone tribal features were prominent his jurisdiction in the county covered everything from just north of the densely populated reno area all the way up to the oregon border nearly 6 000 square miles of sparsely populated and rugged terrain the sheriff took care of businesses in the cities of reno and sparks south of them everything else travajo ran as he saw fit from his office just a few miles from the three flags it was a quiet job for the most part the occasional domestic dispute or marijuana operation up in the mountains he had grown up just down the road from the truck stop and old cobb had given him his first job washing trucks when he was 14. he knew about the illegal poker games in the back rooms the working girls who sometimes drifted in plying their trade among the truckers he knew about the bare knuckle cage fights in the junkyard that drew in the reno crowds where some pretty substantial sums changed hands he knew the truckers used this route to get around the california inspection stations he knew all these things and a little more but turned a blind eye he usually didn't put too much effort into the little things the deputy leaned his back on the counter sipping the coffee martha had brought over to him while he was waiting for his breakfast biscuits he recognized jimmy winchell sitting a few stools down and smiled at him now mr winchell he exclaimed i saw the tour bus welcome to nevada you guys doing a show in reno jimmy put on his patented aw shuck smile that had graced his platinum selling albums stood and walked over to the deputy holding out his hand yes sir he said as they shook we have one this evening but with all this craziness going on do you know if they're shutting down big events i can't seem to get through to our manager he nodded his head at the phone lying on the countertop i honestly don't know billy said i haven't heard anything like that yet but we're just now starting to get reports of some attacks in reno i've called all my deputies and i should know more when i get to the office the entire diner was listening and a few drivers called out questions have you heard anything about sacramento are they shutting the highways down is this some kind of terrorist attack deputy travajo held up his hands in front of him hold on fellas i haven't heard anything except a few isolated reports from reno that's all my radio picks up i won't know anything else till you get to the office but as it stands now it's just a few incidences nothing to get too worked up about and no i don't know what's behind it all could just be a bad batch of mexican drugs or mass psychosis remember those german nuns back in the 15th century who started biting everybody nobody did but a few of the drivers laughed at this some of them knew billy from the old days when he would wash their trucks and continually stump them with weird trivia questions peanut butter and buttercup were in a booth near the counter and the older of the two ladies peanut butter as the drivers all newer asked him if he'd heard anything about the governor declaring a state of emergency and if he did would truck still be allowed on the roads they had a load of livestock on they couldn't wait for days for things to settle down they didn't carry extra feed or water again billy reiterated that he didn't really know anything yet he'd have someone call and let them know more once he got to the office the conversations among the drivers started back up again and they speculated about things no one really had any answers to tiny and gunny turned back to their plates before the food got cold scratch was texting on his phone again they heard a dull thumping sound before they looked up to see a blacked out chrysler 300 complete with huge rims and skinny tires pull up to the gas pumps closest to the building the heavy thumping base beat must have been deafening inside the car yo i got 15s banging they can beat a man up scratch rap throwing his best hand and claw gang signs tiny just shook his head and he's going to wonder why it gets pulled over he said disturbing the peace if nothing else a skinny black man with braids and beads in his hair jumped out nearly dancing to the beat which continued on after he shut off the car and swiped his car to start fueling he was wearing his saggy pants so low most of his skinny rump and brightly colored underwear was showing his gold chains the sideways hat the silver teeth and neck tattoos announced to the world he was ghetto and proud of it a white cargo van with ladders on the roof pulled into the last island and a couple of guys in paint stained pants got out and stretched started filling their own gas tank ignoring the young black man dancing to his music most of the drivers had noticed a ghetto gangster because of the thumping base vibrating the windows of the diner and were half jokingly laying odds on how long until he got pulled over for driving while black gunny went back to his blueberry pancakes he had better things to worry about the two motorcycle riders had finished their breakfast and had walked outside to their bikes talking and strapping on their helmets gonna be a good day for a ride gunny commented if billy's bringing in all his deputies they'll have their own to themselves tiny humped they can have it you know they'll be running 100 miles an hour through those curves give me my old harley any day slow and easy scratch said quickly looking over his shoulder to make sure kim hadn't heard they'll be going 100 before they leave the parking lot the deputy had paid for his dozen breakfast biscuits and was trying to get out of the restaurant without being rude but still trying to answer some of the questions when cobb stumped in and cut everyone off the man said he doesn't know nothing more than what he's already told you so shut your gobs and let him get out of here and do his job he rashed billy smiled and nodded his thanks pushing open the door and walking into the sea store headed for the main doors out to the parking lot the two motorcycle riders fully knitted up with their helmets and leather gauntlets took off out of the lot with a little too much throttle than was strictly necessary anxious to start carving the winding mountain roads especially now that they knew the sheriff's department wouldn't be on patrol it was going to be a glorious early fall day the bikes were running beautifully the police presence was at a minimum and the gopro cameras were turned on what could possibly go wrong chapter 2 sarah on her cbr couldn't help but feel the awesomeness of the day coming on her riding buddy was on a gsx a bike equal to hers she had a full tank of gas it was perfect fall weather and there were a hundred miles of curves to conquer she had been riding all her life starting on many bikes and dirt bikes when she was a kid growing up on the farm as a woman she had a hard time finding other females she could really tear up the roads with she knew plenty of girls that rode even belonged to a group that would tool around on day trips and they were fun but none of the other girls she rode with like to really rip through the mountain roads at 150. most of them had probably never had their bikes much past the speed limit so she rode with guys most were cool after they saw that she knew how to handle her bike it wasn't all just show today she was writing with a guy she had met at the bike shop he seemed nice wasn't pushy cute too she'd deserve judgment until she saw how he handled that big gsx she thought she gave the throttle a quick blip and brought the front wheel up a foot or so enjoying the feeling of power and control whatever the morons in the city were all worked up about didn't affect her in the least she just wanted a ride to lean hard and drag her knee through the twisties to see the white dotted lines on the road become a solid blur when she hit 140 in the straights to feel the scream of her engine between her legs to hear the what the was all she had time to think before she was tackled off her bike and slammed to the ground by a screaming woman in a house dress and a curious red blotch splashed all over the front of her flapping gown she had come out of nowhere it seemed launching straight at her while her front wheel was still hanging two feet off the ground the force of the impact ripped her off her bike her hand twisting the throttle full to the stop as she flew backward with the gnashing and screaming woman tearing at her as they were flying through the air she was like a rabid dog lunging at her face scrabbling with her hands and feet to get up to her neck sarah's bike wheeled the rest of the way up and over as they left it and she heard the instant revs of the engine to 10 000 rpms and back down again she heard the crunch of breaking plastic as it slammed onto the asphalt sliding towards the high desert scrub on the side of the road they hit the road hard sarah's helmeted head bouncing in her kevlar lined leathers rasping across the blacktop and into the sand she wasn't hurt by the fall just stunned and trying to wrap her head around the fact that she had just been body slammed at 40 miles an hour while riding a wheelie by a raving lunatic the leathers and helmet were designed for things like this well not exactly like this but for taking an impact with an unforgiving surface and allowing the wearer to walk away unscathed the crazy lady didn't slow down one bit when they finally stopped sliding just attacked with more ferocity than ever snapping her jaws raking her already broken fingernails over the leather trying to find something human to sink her teeth into she was all knees and elbows and fingers everywhere all at once sarah felt panic racing through her head this schizoid kept trying to bite into her face and neck but the helmet and support collar she wore wouldn't let her did she scream probably she tried to push the flailing woman off but she was like an octopus my god how many arms and legs did she have she was all over her roaring in her face bashing her teeth against the helmet trying to get at her she could see her nose break up close and in bloody 3d as she once again smashed into her faceplate her hands pulled and clawed at sarah's jacket every time she managed to push her away she came back in twice as vicious a pulling grasping woman thing trying to tear through the leather and panning of the one-piece suit she wore sarah knew she screamed that time and mindless survival adrenaline kicked in a blind urgency to get this thing off of her overrode everything else she no longer saw her as the 100-pound mexican woman maybe on drugs maybe just crazy she saw a monster trying to eat her face she saw childhood nightmares had become real her fight-or-flight animal brain engaged and she started punching the woman in the side of her head with her carbon fiber reinforced leather knuckles she struggled and tried to roll her off but the mad woman's strength was unreal she ignored sarah's bashing on the side of her head and sank her teeth into the neck collar again this time getting a solid mouthful and ragging her head back and forth like a dog with a blanket the collar ripped clear of her neck the velcro fasteners coming free sarah's blind terror ratcheted up another notch she had to get this thing off the next lunge would tear her throat wide open she got a handful of the woman's flying black hair as she spit out the neck collar but the leather of her gloves was slick not doing a very good job of holding her head back there was slipping and she was lunging with inhuman strength the banshee saw the unprotected skin of her throat and screamed again diving in to tear it open then brian was there ripping off his helmet and using it as a weapon he smashed it into the side of her head at a full run and a crushing swing hopping over the two flailing bodies as it dove for sarah's neck with the momentum of the devastating head blow and her own adrenaline jack strength sarah was finally able to shove her off and scramble to her feet breathing hard her eyes finding brian's both of them with stunned looks on their faces what the brian yelled dude what the actual he whispered almost to himself staring dazedly at the blood spatter on his helmet sarah was starting to get the shakes she looked over at the inert body of the slim hispanic girl sprawled where she had fallen her head was caved in on one side blood trickling out of her nose and mouth into the sands grayish bits poking out of the crack in her skull oh man oh man oh man he whispered oh man i didn't mean to kill her sarah he sat down abruptly like his legs had just come unhinged it was self-defense brian she was trying to rip my throat out she said unevenly trying to get her breath back her hands shaking as the adrenaline fled her system it was also fast he said i mean the way she took off your bike it looked like she was trying to eat you i i didn't mean to kill her maybe she's not dead she said a quaver in her voice and started to walk over to see if there was anything she could do but stopped after only a step her head was crushed horribly misshapen her brains were leaking out sarah was an emt for st mary's regional in reno and she knew dead when she saw it that poor woman was definitely dead she looked away flipping up her visor and breathing deeply to get fresh air before she got sick she was used to seeing blood and the aftermath of violence in her job but not used to having any of it perpetrated on herself she looked instead at her bike it was laying on its side a few feet off the road and she started towards it trying to clear her head she had to step away her stomach was really churning around the sausage and eggs she'd eaten the back of the truck stop they had just left was still visible only a few hundred yards down the road this was also surreal they would have to get the cop that was there explain what happened they hadn't meant to hurt her everything happened so fast surely they wouldn't get arrested for this it was an accident and that girl had been seriously whacked out of her gourd brian looks messed up geez is he crying maybe he's going into shock all these thoughts and more were rattling through her head as she picked up her fire blade it was a big bike and heavy but she stood it back up the way she had learned years ago using her legs and checked the damage it still looked rideable just some of the plastic scratched and cracked the sand had saved it from any real damage she wondered if it would start she'd never laid a fuel injected bike down before she knew from riding old dirt bikes growing up on the farm in idaho that they were hard to start once you laid them down you would have to kick it over a few dozen times to get the carburetor primed and working right once you fell off after trying something stupid she looked over at brian as she pushed the big honda back onto the asphalt he seemed out of it just sitting there in the sand at the side of the road with his head down could they really have been enjoying breakfast just a few minutes ago a lifetime it happened in a span of time it took to watch a few commercials on tv brian she said but stopped when she heard an eerie quiet howling behind her she jerked her head around thinking god there can't be another one but there was two of them running at full speed straight towards them coming from a mobile home that was set back into the high desert at the end of a long unpaved driveway they looked like kids maybe 10 or 12 still in their pajamas brian she screamed this time jabbing at the starter button of her bike nothing happened not even a click the front part of her mind screamed while the more rational part yelled neutral safety idiot she swung her leg over pulled the clutch lever and jabbed the button again with a single practice motion and the bike fired to life brian she yelled again we got to go there's more of them the rational and thinking part of her brain was trying to come up with the reason why this was happening the woman had maybe been zonked on spice or something but kids no way but there they were tearing across the scrub-covered sands heedless of the thorny bushes shredding their feet hands outstretched and as crazy as the woman had been meth lab gone bad homemade pcp disaster the survival part of her brain was saying who gives a get the hell out of here she turned to look at her newest friend whom she'd only known for a few weeks the guy she thought was cute and had admired his bike the guy who had just saved her life he was still just sitting there beside the dead woman staring at the sand between his legs is it shock the two kids were fast could they be so quick they were at a full sprint but faster no time to get brian's bike picked up and started she yelled again brian get on man get on they're coming this time brian looked up from the ground and saw sarah shooting over towards him fear in her face he saw the two kids coming straight for them running right through cactus and tumbleweeds not even noticing the damage it was doing to their bare feet he jumped up and started to run away from them blind panic pushing his body to flee not even hearing sarah's screams for him to get on the back of the bike the truck stop loomed in the distance it would be safe there he had to get inside that cop was there he would help him he would know what to do he had to get there so he ran like he was back in high school running sprints no thought of getting his motorcycle no thought of just hopping on the back of sarah's bike pure blind terror he had seen what that woman did tearing into sarah like she was some mad demon he couldn't take that no way those two little monsters weren't going to do that to him he had to run he had to make it to the restaurant he had to get inside he ran arms pumping feet pounding the pavement blind to anything else except the safety of the truck stop back to the diner back to people back to that cop sarah wrote up beside him yelling get on get on but it was useless brian was in full panic mode sarah looked back at the kids they seemed to be gaining ground but they were only about 100 yards to the corner of the truck stop maybe another 50 to the entrance doors she did some nano fast calculations brian could make it if he kept the speed up without another second's thought she twisted the wick and leaned into it keeping the front tire firmly on the ground she was up to 80 miles an hour and then hard on the binders leaning into the parking lot as she shot towards the front doors she locked the brakes then let the bike crash to the ground once she had slowed enough to hop off and into a full run the cop was there just coming out of the door with a bag of food in his arms and watched in stunned amazement as the pretty little biker with the form-fitting leathers threw her bike down sarah ran towards him yelling and waving her arms past the shocked faces of everyone looking out of the windows of the diner billy travajo reacted quickly the bag of biscuits fell to the ground one hand dropped down to the butt of his gun and unsnapped the safety strap in one fluid motion the other halfway across his chest ready to go into a two-handed shooter's stance if need be the kid was yelling something and pointing back the way she had come had the other rider already crashed his bike did they need an ambulance but when his eyes darted back up the road the way the kid was pointing he saw the other biker running like his hair was on fire and a couple of mexican kids chasing after him he relaxed his hand on the gun letting it slide back down into the holster something was wrong that was evident but not deadly force wrong but all the same he didn't snap the safety strap back into place the music from the chrysler was still blasting and billy couldn't make out what the girl was yelling dead woman drugs kids trying to kill them the other biker had just rounded the corner of the building and was tearing across the parking lot towards him he looked like he was running for his life billy mused taking in the big picture assessing possible threats like he'd been trained to do at the academy right now it looked like his biggest threat was the two bikers something was wrong with him had they accidentally killed a woman down the road caused a wreck the biker that had ridden in was close enough now that billy could hear her over the racket coming from the chrysler's overamplified sound system the kids she was yelling and gesticulating wildly the kids are trying to kill us billy heard this but couldn't process it the two little teenagers still in their pajamas were trying to kill somebody it was laughable but this was no prank the fear in this woman's face was real and she had just dropped a ten thousand dollar bike on the ground like it was her brother's ratty old schwinn the young biker still had her helmet on and it looked like there was blood on the visor billy was trying to understand her but the words just didn't compute the kids were on drugs the kids were dangerous the kids were crazy the kids were trying to kill them he put a hand up and started to say just calm down and tell me what happened but the words didn't even get a chance to form on his lips he was looking at the other running biker and watched in disbelief as the little girl sprang at him from at least ten feet away landing on his back and driving him down into the asphalt the girl was snarling like an animal and the man who fell was screaming through a bloody face she tore into his neck with savagery more befitting a fighting dog than anything human jets of blood shot out as she tore a chunk of meat from the back of his head ripping away a strip of his hair with it at the same time the other kid a boy of no more than 10 or 11 had veered off towards the gas island and was aiming straight for one of the painters standing next to the cargo van the kid didn't even slow the slightest just tackled the dumbfounded man to the ground and started biting in his face billy had his gun out of the holster and was running towards a little girl who was going in for another bite ignoring the flailing hands of the man on the ground his mind was racing can't shoot from here she's probably moving too fast from the way he's thrashing around i'd probably put the bullet in him shoot a little girl i can't kill a little girl he wished he had a taser but his department didn't carry them get inside he bellowed to no one in particular and everyone in general get in the building it was the only place he could think up for safety until he could figure out what the hell was going on as he ran up to the struggling pair on the ground intending to pull her off she sprang at him arms fully outstretched aiming for his face her mouth flew wide open a chunk of flesh torn from the biker falling aside ready to tear into him billy realized too late he was in trouble she would be on him before he could level his gun she plowed into him her uncannily powerful legs propelling her the distance between them and she was gnashing and clawing in his eyes instantly he managed to get his off arm between them as he fell over backward and she clamped her jaws down on it instead of his face but she didn't seem to care she ravaged it with abandon shredding open the shirt sleeve and digging her incisors all the way to the bone he yelled in surprise and pain and brought his service revolver up to her side just below the rib cage and pulled the trigger twice reaction not thought years of training muscle memory and redundancy without thinking he heard other shots going off over near the gas island the rapid-fire sound of someone with an automatic and trying to empty the magazine from the sounds of it he expected the little girl to go limp to fly off his arm from the impact of the two 357 hollow point rounds blasting into her at point-blank range she didn't even register the slugs other than a jerking of her body she ragged her head back and forth trying to tear the chunk of flesh from his arm ignoring the little holes in her left side and the two gaping holes in her right from the bullet's exit he was on his back her on top his arm in agony and he could hear himself screaming at her incoherent nothing words of rage and pain he was bringing the revolver back up again to empty it into her when he saw a heavy work boot connect with the side of her head breaking her jaw and her hold on him she tumbled off but was back on all fours turning to attack again crouched to spring spittle and teeth flying from her broken mouth billy shot her in the face and she dropped like a sack of potatoes he turned to see who had kicked the girl off him gunny was in a protective stance over him holding out a hand palm towards him in a be still gesture in the other he held a black pistol covering the area over by the gas pumps where he was intently staring chapter 3 gunny had been in the diner finishing up his breakfast as old cobb had basically told everybody to shut the hell up so the deputy could leave he watched the bikers pull out and smiled as he saw the girl in the honda goose it a little and bring the front wheel up as they went out of view past the end of the building cool scratch said what if i could rig a bike up to work with this hand somehow he held up his hooks and examined them turning them thinking of some way he could modify the artificial limb to work a clutch lover gunny thought for a minute and said could always hook both brakes up to the foot pedal put a clutch over on the right side how would i give gas then scratch asked load gunny don't encourage the boy tiny rumbled he'll wind up losing his other arm scratch ignored him did they make automatic bikes he asked i wonder if i could get kim to go riding with me boy when you're gonna work up the nerve to just ask her out tiny said you two been dancing around each other for months i don't know i will just waiting for the right time scratch mumbled looking almost embarrassed very unlike his usual bombastic self tiny knew what the problem was the arm scratch carried on like he didn't care like his mechanical arm was better than the old one he had like nothing bothered him tiny knew kim didn't care about it or he was pretty sure she didn't but she can't tell the young buck things like that tiny didn't have the words no one did it was a thing scratch just had to figure out for himself he looked over at gunny saw he was staring at something out of the window the gal on the honda was flying back into the parking lot hell bent for leather she let the bike just fall over as she jumped off and ran to the front of the building what the scratch started then trailed off tiny turned in his seat to get a better view of what was going on as were some of the others in the booths the girl was running wildly towards billy arms flailing and pointing back towards the road she was yelling something but no one could hear over the constant thump thump thump of the base pounding out a steady beat gunny saw the other biker come around the corner of the building in a full sprint two ragged looking kids in pajamas screaming after him arms outstretched they all watched in horror as a little girl leaped like a leopard taking down prey they all watched her land on the man's back and drive him into the ground then tear a chunk of flesh out of his neck spraying blood and ripping skin all action ceased martha's eyes were wide as she stopped in mid-pour of a coffee at the counter the diner went silent only the muted droning of the tv and vibrations of the base and the windows forks of food and cups of java held in limbo halfway to the mouth the country musicians at the counter had spun on their stools and like everyone else just stared dumbfounded a mother had covered her child's eyes it was like a snapshot everything frozen in time except for a splash of coffee overflowing the cup being poured by martha then the plate shattered on the floor dropped from kim lee's hand that was the catalyst that broke the spell somebody yelled out charlie's in the wire a scratch bellowed at the top of his lungs hodgy at the gate these both were triggers deeply ingrained in many of the men there and movement was instantaneous and unthinking they both meant the same thing from two different generations of warriors they both meant death was right there right now and if you didn't want it to be you you better move right this instant no hesitation no consideration move or die those words demanded action those words meant the bullets were about to fly the bombs are about to explode and if you falter for even a second it would be you the captain would be writing home to your loved ones about old cobb's drill sergeant voice came booming out as he sprinted to the missing man table and the three rifles with their bayonets in the dirt secure the perimeter booths were emptied chairs tipped over backward as men jumped to their feet old habits and training springing to the front of their minds no matter how many years it had been since they last heard a sergeant's bellowed orders cobbs was the voice of command that would not be ignored a ringing voice that filled the vast spaces of the quonset hut drowning out all others kim on the roof he roared grabbing the garen and tossing it to her as she came running over pick your targets only eight rounds he grabbed the m4 and threw it to scratch as he flew by already out of the booth and had a full run close on gunny's heels front door he said and scratch grabbed it with his good hand never breaking stride cobb glanced around quickly at the man in his diner taking in everything with a well-seasoned eye many had guns in their hands pointed at the floor facing out searching for danger for targets they were unsure of exactly what to do but ready to do it whatever it was now that old cobb had established command chris jellybean get down to the shop secure the doors he barked out at the two men closest to him that were armed they took off and a sprint peanut butter had her pink lady smith nine millimeter drawn and cobb yelled at her to go wake up wire bender make sure no one in the parking lot got out of their trucks he sent others out to rouse the sleepers in the airbnb trucks cobb had an eye on the parking lot during all this and saw the painter go down under the assault from the pajama-clad kid he'd watched billy travajo put two rounds in the little girl and gunny boot her in the face all it did was piss her off he didn't know what was happening but he knew there was going to be some more killing going on the trouble from the cities had come to the high desert old habits came back instantly stay alive first figure it out later you two front door with scratch he pointed out two more men he saw had their sidearms drawn and ready martha locked the back door he yelled over to the counter where she had returned after seeing her granddaughter climb the ladder in the back of the kitchen to the roof most of the civilians as cobb thought of them were still at their tables staring in disbelief at what was going on at all of these nice truckers suddenly running around with guns like it was a war zone wasn't it against the law to just carry a gun around willy nilly they had seen the attacks the blood the viciousness but the police should handle these drug addicts not a bunch of armed truck drivers someone called 9-1-1 has anyone dialed 9-1-1 they asked each other mothers soothed crying children frightened by the shouting who didn't know what was going on but felt the tension and fear in the air cobb didn't know what it was what was happening why little kids would attack like he had just seen but like some of the other combat vets in this room he remembered children with grenades in vietnam and children with suicide vests in the middle eastern wars better safe than sorry he was thinking better too much and not enough he had known a lot of the truckers carried had seen the printing of their various firearms over the years against their untucked shirts knew they were a breed apart intended to ignore the rules or bend the laws men who had seen shots fired in anger and never wanted to be defenseless a balding man stood up and tried to make his voice heard over the den of the others in the dining area over the crying children and frightened voices of women see here all these guns are scaring people he said is all this really necessary someone should just call the police other voices chimed in and cobb heard things like overreaction and must think they're back in a war zone and ptsd cobb glanced at him briefly and dismissed him as unimportant to the mission right now that was to make sure those kids or whoever sent them to attack didn't get inside his building that was number one priority nothing else mattered he racked the bolt on the m16 clone and stepped into the main building hurrying for the front doors chapter four long dog was doing it right the base was pumping his fingers were jumping he was gassing up the whip for the last time today the long night's drive would be over soon the run-up from his home turf in la was just about finished obeying all the traffic laws cruise control set three miles an hour over the speed limit everything was going according to plan and no one had screwed anything up this was it a big one the score that would get him out of the mean streets and onto easy street it had taken him long years to get this far careful planning slow climbing trust building learning to speak enough naha to communicate with the farmers when he was a translator down in el salvador for uncle sugar knowing the right people saying the right things being cautious in a world where you could lose your head or wind up in prison during hard time for even the smallest of mistakes loose lips sink ships as they say he wasn't a dealer he was a businessman and he only dealt with other businessmen supply and demand he had spent every dime he had on this run his bank was dry something went wrong and he lost the shipment he wouldn't even be able to afford a pack of smokes in jail let alone hire a decent attorney it wasn't a mule it wasn't carrying for somebody else the score was all his all the risk all the profit go big or go home right 360 pounds of the finest and purest uncut unmolested cocaine money could buy close to three million dollars in unmarked benjamins would be his in a few more hours he had started with 500 pounds gotten at great risk and great expense from contacts he had made in komalapa when he was stationed there but paying the fees and sharing the wealth with the right people ensured it got to him unscathed don't get greedy a nighttime boat ride around guatemala and into mexico a long drive up through the country and dozens of trips back and forth with his drones out in the middle of nowhere then it was into la where he recruited his best friend and cousin to help him with the final phase of the plan now finally almost to where the man with the briefcase is full of money was going to meet him a man long dog had been doing business with for years now and a man he trusted a man who wouldn't double cross him because he was under the impression that long dog would do this again next year when the new crop came in but this was it for him one and done three million was enough to retire on if he was smart he wanted out of this life wanted out of south central l.a wanted his mom to not have to struggle anymore he wanted a good neighborhood a place near the water maybe get his car audio business started it was a good plan a perfect plan a solid plan that had contingencies for contingencies a plan he had begun working on when the army sent him down to a remote little drug intervention place down in el salvador simply because he was fluent in spanish when he showed up nobody knew what to do with him because they were expecting a hispanic guy who could blend in long dog did not blend in they assigned him to a desk told him to keep out of the way so he did drew his check each month and tagged along with some of the cia guys and rangers when they went out on drug raids some of it got pretty hairy but he learned the native farmer's language he'd always had a knack for picking up things like that when he went back after his time with the army was up he started making deals started doing a little business he looked up from the gas pump he was bobbing at and saw a roaring little mexican kid smash into mario standing in front of the van driving him down on the concrete the plan no mario he yelled just standing there pump nozzle in his hand the kid tore into mario's screaming face and ripped a great chunk of his cheek off his fingers and thumbs stabbed into mario's eyes and deep into the sockets for something to give him a firm grip to hold on with as he tore the flesh loose mario batted at him ineffectually blinded and screaming incoherently long dog's cousin was at the back of the van pumping the gas and he yelled out also the kid sprung at him sprung at him like spider-man or something and they disappeared out of sight behind the painters van jimmy screaming as loud as mario had long dogs seconds of hesitation were over he pulled his beretta and ran past mario who was still screaming or trying to with all the blood clogging his throat and half his face missing he rounded the back of the van maybe he could save jimmy from that crazy little bastard but what he saw stopped him in his tracks jimmy wasn't yelling because he had no throat the kid was ripping at it blood was spraying a long white something in his teeth as he jerked around and looked straight into lawrence's eyes long dog was gone mama's little lawrence stood there looking at a horror he had never even imagined in his worst nightmares not even the ones where he was back in south america that woke him up in sweats and night terrors images of cartel mutilated bodies fresh in his mind again the kid sprang at him and the beretta answered the nine millimeter realms peppered the kid as fast as he could pull the trigger sending him sprawling backward a step with each impact keeping him dancing and upright the 15 rounds were down the pipe and the slide locked back in seconds the kid finally slumping to the ground near jimmy's still form stared through the gunsmoke curling up at the end of the barrel at something that just could not be couldn't but it was the kid wasn't dead he had just emptied a full mag into him lawrence knew most of them hit hella was nearly point blank he saw the kid's body jerking like he was being electrocuted but he it was still trying to crawl towards him he could see chunks of his backbone sticking out where at least one of the rounds had shattered it there wasn't even that much blood just the big holes in the kids pajamas long dogs started backing up he had heard the cops scream for everybody to get in the building and had seen the old white guy jump back into his minivan and smoke his tires as he sped away from the pumps he looked around stunned to indecision not knowing what to do first mario was still moaning but jimmy looked dead the little kid was still trying to crawl towards him the cop was screaming like he was being eaten too and the damn little kid was still coming at him mario was a mess trying to stand the cop said everybody get in the store he couldn't leave in his car he needed to get the van out of here the van had the coke in it disguised in paint cans and that damn little kid was getting closer he turned to run to mario but some beardy-ass trucker was there helping him up yelling at long dog what turn that off he bellowed at him a wave of his gun at long dog's chrysler supporting mario in his other arm lawrence looked at him then in his car right he thought right the music turn it off so we can hear he didn't particularly like it so loud anyway it was just all part of the plan to draw any attention away from the van and onto him he looked back at the kid still crawling towards him with its broken back and one shattered arm and 15 bullet holes in him the trucker had noticed and was staring at it with his head cocked to one side like he was trying to figure out what the hell he was looking at lawrence ran to his car and hit the stereo remote silencing the thundering subwoofers instantly the quiet was worse he could hear the rasping and hissing of the thing as it doggedly kept coming at him he grabbed a spare mag out of his console and jacked it in letting the slide go home but before he could shoot it another 15 times the trucker loosed one round to its forehead and it dropped still and silent at last mario was blubbering now holding his hand over the missing parts of his face his blind eyes squished and running down his one cheek lawrence felt ill his head was light he leaned back against the car afraid he was gonna pass out just breathe the trucker told him i need you in the game this ain't over yet across the parking lot from where the big rigs were parked a man was looking towards them it was obvious he had come from the trucks to see if he could help but had just stopped in place unsure whether to continue a run back to the safety of the parking lot when the shooting had all started it had all happened so fast a minute or two no more he stood there a big tire thumper club in his hand and yelled over what's going on gunny ignored him here he said the long dog come here help me with this guy you know him yeah he's blood he paused wincing at his choice of words yeah i know him here's the doctor's office in the truck stop get him back there somebody can try to get the bleeding stopped gunny said handing him off to the skinny black man and getting them started walking i'll check on that other guy but he had seen the death rattle in the man's feet as they protruded out from behind the van he knew that shake he'd seen it before there wasn't anything he could do he looked back towards the entrance of the truck stop where everything had just started a minute ago cobb had come out and was helping the bleeding biker back into the shop hustling him towards doc's little office in driver's alley the girl that had been on the big honda had wrapped something around the deputy's arm and with a couple of the other truckers help they were headed back inside he saw a scratch with an m4 at the front door holding it open for them waving the black kid and that poor guy with his eyes gouged out to hurry up gunny gave his head a ruffle half shake what a thunk it old cobb's gun decorations weren't just decorations after all watch out kim lee yelled from the catwalk on top of the main quonset hut and pulled the garand up to her shoulder gunny followed her line of sight and saw the man who he had just watched die bounding across the parking lot the trucker with the tire thumper was no longer in a state of indecision when he saw a man with a ripped open neck wearing a white pair of painters overalls spattered in blood bounding towards him using hands and feet like an animal he turned and ran the safety of his truck was close he could see it idling in the quiet september morning and he didn't know exactly what was happening but he knew he didn't want any part of it he ran but not fast enough gunny took off after them but knew he would be too late to do any good there were other truckers he could see peering out of their windshields having been awoken by all the gunfire a few of them took in the situation instantly and reacted just as quickly no gunny thought as he ran stay in your truck he yelled but knew they wouldn't hear him over the idling diesels they didn't know the situation they hadn't seen what he had just witnessed they only saw some thug chasing down one of their own and that just wouldn't do their good hearts were going to get them killed he couldn't take a shot at the painter it was too far for his pistol and a fast moving target he wished kim would fire but knew the angle was wrong she might hit the fleeing trucker or maybe she couldn't force herself to shoot a man she was just a kid she was a great shot had the trophies to prove it but paper targets just weren't the same she hadn't seen the man die he had been under the fuel island canopy she didn't have all the facts nobody did but him and he still didn't know just what his eyes had seen and even though his logical mind was screaming in protest his battle mind was coldly processing everything it was coming to a conclusion that was impossible didn't matter he was acting on it until proven wrong bootleg dvd sellers you thought were friendlies that had ieds in their boxes was impossible to imagine till it happened little kids who had just given a candy bar stabbing you in the belly with a dirty knife was impossible until it happened mothers strapping bombs to their eight-year-olds sending them laughing and smiling into the middle of your team was impossible until it happened and zombies were impossible until it happened chapter 5 truck driver almost made it to his rig before he was brought down in a heap sliding on the gravel screaming in fear pain and panic he turned and tried to fight using his tire thumper and the other drivers were there almost instantly pulling at the bloody painter but they didn't know what they were dealing with they had brought a pool noodle to battle the nuclear armada in gunny's mind the painter was a whirling dervish biting ripping tearing not caring who he bit just seeking to satiate his desire for blood to taste the sweetness of man's flesh by the time gunny had crossed the parking lot to kick it square in the face knocking it off of the man on the ground the other four had already drawn away they were in a state of disbelief at the ferocity of the attack all of them with gashes and bites deep scratches and chunks of flesh missing from arms and legs the thing in the ground wasn't finished but it was stunned if only a little gunny kicked out again his heavy boot bouncing its head on the wheel of the rig the driver had been trying to climb into then he stomped down hard on its neck as the head hit the gravel and held it long enough to put a nine millimeter round into its snarling face gore splashed out of the back of its head and it went still instantly the other drivers stared at him all of them breathing hard stunned looks on their faces what one of them started to ask but couldn't finish the thought they were all bleeding breathing deep a little shell shocked and the quiet rumble of the big diesel behind them and the sound of wirebender shouting over the cb stay in your trucks he was yelling and somebody blew your horn to wake everybody else up there was a cacophony of sound as a dozen trucks blasted air and train horns some of them had just witnessed what had happened and the radio lit up with chatter everyone talking over everybody else what the man started again the hell's going on he was bleeding freely from a set of nasty looking scratches across his bare chest one of his nipples was clearly torn off zombies gunny panted the four of them stared at him it was too unreal to be true too unreal not to be true gunny knew two of them the others he may have seen in passing he couldn't recall the man on the ground was moaning and holding his chest that was bleeding through his fingers he had half a dozen bites on him gunny stepped off the dead painter and put a little distance between him and the man hold on ozzy said zombies one of the drivers gunny couldn't quite play said no such thing hopped up on angel dust is a better guess open your eyes look gunny pointed to the painter to his ripped open neck that was missing half of the throat and larynx i don't care how many drugs you do you don't get up and try to eat people after that happens to you and i just saw that guy pumping gas he was normal until he was killed by that little mexican kid he was trying to explain trying to reason it out in his own head trying to figure out if what he was saying was even possible let alone true i saw that kid take 15 rounds to the chest and still try to bite me he said he was waiting for someone to play devil's advocate someone to tell him he was wrong that the black kid had missed all those times that what you saw you didn't really see but no one did gumball looked like he was gonna hurl he was taking deep slow breaths and all the color it drained out of his face i got bit ozzy said does that mean i'm supposed to turn into a zombie he asked eyeing the glock in gunny's hand i don't know he replied all i know is what i see you saw it too he ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair that was getting too long again curling just above his collar they were all staring at him it was hard to think straight with all the noise some ass was still blowing his air horn trucks were firing up and everybody's radios were cranked up loud drivers with linears were walking all over each other trying to find out what was happening some of the trucks were starting to pull out air brakes hissing as they were released let's get this guy inside back to doc's office he said and motioned to the man on the ground doc in here this early gumball said wrapping his bleeding arm and his t-shirt a grimace of pain on his face and he needs an ambulance not some old saw bones that gives physicals phones are dead gunny said bending over to help the fallen man stand up the small part of his brain was screaming be careful blood don't get any on you get out of here while you still can run the other part that have been trained from birth to be kind to animals to be a gentleman don't hit your sister open a lady's car door you'll stand before god someday never leave a fallen brother on the battlefield help the helpless that part was overriding the selfish part of him it was making him do what he thought he must making him try to help the other man to his feet but the man had stopped moaning in his hands had slid away from his bites and lay still in the gravel gunny stopped in mid bend the wounds hadn't seemed that bad at first glance but he did have a lot of them his face and arms had chunks missing his chest and neck and there was a lot of blood on the ground run run run his mind screamed he looked at him at his face at his mangled lip his torn cheek he was still his chest wasn't moving up and down was he still breathing no way he was going to give cpr no way he couldn't hear him breathe but who could hear anything with all the trucks and horns and radio chatter and the eyes sprung open black pupils fully dilated only the slightest orb of blue around the edges gunny reacted immediately springing backward and bringing his gun up in the same motion as the creature that used to be a man uttered a guttural sound and bounded to his feet the other men ran as the thing sprung at gunny who was pulling his trigger as fast as he could the glock was pumping nine millimeter bullets into the flying form spent brass skittering across the gravel the lead passed right through him ripping muscle and tissue and organs shattering bones then punching into the truck beside them the rounds didn't send it flying backward they barely slowed its forward momentum the thing slammed into him before he could get the gun high enough for a head shot panic had caused him to react but not fast enough to put it down with a brain scramble he knew that worked he had just seen it done to the painter and the little mexican kid he had seen billy dropped a little girl with a shot to the head when two to her body didn't even phase her it didn't even know it was shot and gunny hadn't been lucky enough to sever its spine he went with the attack falling back rolling to his left letting the thing's inertia and weight carry it away from him and slam into the hood of the big rig head first gunny let go and spun away towards the door opening it and slamming the creature in the face as it recovered and launched again its feet flew out from underneath it and it fell over backward as he scrambled into the cab of the still idling truck he slammed the door behind him frantically looked for the lock button he stared at it through the window as it jumped and clawed trying to get to him not even registering the five or six holes he had pumped into it its intensity was unnerving it slammed itself mindlessly against the truck over and over denting the metal breaking its fingers and teeth as it chewed and clawed there was the distinctive sound of a heavy caliber rifle report and gunny stared through the windshield at kim lee on the catwalk above the main building she was aiming towards the road and he followed her gun to see a small crowd of sprinters running towards a truck stop some bounding on all fours like animals one of them toppled and fell to the ground it looked like the man who had just left in the minivan when all this started was the shooting at people real people but he saw clearly then the blood the way they were running and keening not people definitely not they had been heading in his direction but when they heard the crack of the rifle they turned and masked toward it towards the truck stop oh gunny said aloud everyone in the diner was at the windows staring out at the running horrors the windows at the speeds they were running and total indifference to their own injuries they would hit those windows and shatter right through them gunny hit the brake releases slammed the rig into third stomped the pedal and grabbed the air horn he heard more reports in quick succession as kim fired up the few rounds she had the big thirty odd sex was doing damage much more than his nine millimeter rounds had he saw some of them fall but they got back up she was doing body shots couldn't blame her for that headshots were difficult at the best of times but she was definitely slowing them down he heard the sound of smaller caliber rounds being sent into the crowd from the men at the front door of the truck stop and the rapid fire from the m4 that scratch had he spun gravel fast shifting trying to get some speed out of the rig it was loaded heavy and he had to wind each gear before he could grab the next the creatures heard him the sound of the air horn blasting and some of them changed course heading right for him but some had seen the patrons standing in the windows of the diner hands to mouths looks of shock and disbelief written all over their faces they charged screaming howling and keening full force towards the fresh food gunny jumped the curb and plowed down the shrubbery between the truck parking lot and the automobile gas pumps he grabbed another gear foot to the floor the big diesel roaring in protest at the abuse and speed shifted again hitting sixth and pegging the tack all the way over to its governed limit he blew past the front of the building angling in over the handicapped parking spots bouncing the red ferrari off of the kenworth's unforgiving bumper it went sliding into billy travajo's cruiser and knocking it out of the way too he was trying to get close to the building trying to park the semi in front of the windows to stop them from being shattered and the people inside overrun he scraped along a few other cars up over the sidewalk tearing up martha's flower beds that were directly under the windows the closest sprinter was ignoring the noisy diesel seeing only the people standing there ripe for the taking he sprung hands extended reaching for the woman in a blue shirt ready to sink his teeth into the flesh to tear to rend to feel her blood in his throat he impacted with the grill of the truck bouncing off towards the windows and a bone broken spin the woman in the window screamed a high piercing shriek and fell back away from the monstrosity and then the truck's tires were there crushing it to pulp and blocking the view of all inside gunny swung the nose of the tractor out knocking some foreign car out of the way or maybe it was american they all look the same nowadays to him he jammed the kenworth into reverse and slipped the clutch maneuvering the trailer tight against the building and up against the main hut that would keep anything out the windows ran the length of the smaller quonset hut and were set about four feet up off the ground the 70 feet of this tractor and trailer covered them up nicely except for the catwalk between the truck and its trailer but that area was small even if they did manage to get up there they wouldn't have any force to break the window it would do for now he heard wirebender on the radio hollering for someone else to do the same to the driver's alley windows and the front of the store gunny shut the motor off and leaned back in the seat he looked into the side mirror saw a truck slipping in close to the double doors at the main entrance it tore off the rest of the awning that he had broken when he came flying in there were a few of the creatures left still trying to get to him but they were pretty busted up kim had really done some damage with a big gun but they were still crawling or dragging themselves towards the sound of humans there was maybe half a dozen of them all coming in from the direction of reno the two bikers had come in from the other way so these things must be everywhere the bikers that one had been bitten pretty badly so had the deputy he grabbed the mic for the cb and keyed it wirebender kick it back stat he yelled yeah come on gunny you gotta isolate anyone that's been bitten he said urgently they'll turn into those mindless things it's contagious he couldn't bring himself to save zombies although he knew that's what they were what else could they be but he didn't want to be laughed at thought of as an idiot i'll be in in just a minute i think i can get to the roof from the top of the trailer he added thinking it would be easier to explain maybe convince them in person rather than over the radio you mean zombies wirebender came back iconically they're in doc's office and we got it under control gunny hrumped shoulda known he thought biggest conspiracy nut i know he probably heard about this a month ago wirebender was an odd duck old cobb had rented him space in the driver's alley and let him plug in his little rv and park it out in the junkyard he was supposed to be the night watchman some of those old truck parts had gotten valuable lately with ebay you could find the guy who would pay 50 bucks for an original diamond real fuel gauge but he stayed on a cot in the back of his radio shop half the time the internet was better and the bathroom was closer he had been a radio man back in them that probably smoked too much or seen too much no one really knew he didn't talk about his time in country somehow he had landed here and cobb's strange little truck stop with the other misfits who didn't quite fit into polite society and had been fixing cbs and ham radios for as long as anyone could remember his name was known far and wide everybody knew if he wanted a big radio wire bender from the three flags was one of the best he could tweak things and didn't give a tinker's dam if the fcc frowned on some of his modifications gunny ejected the mag from his glock 19 and counted the rounds there were five in the mag and one in the pipe he shoved it back in the well and slid it into his holster he wanted to put bullets in the brain pans of every crawling thing left out there he knew there were a threat but they weren't an immediate threat and his life might depend on those six rounds he had another box in his truck and it was safely tucked away in the shop he wanted to get to it before he started wasting ammo on half-blasted creatures zombies he corrected himself they're zombies real live honest-to-god zombies well maybe real dead honest to god zombies he didn't know how it could possibly be how science fiction and haitian horror stories could be real but he knew what he saw he thought he knew what he saw and good lord if he was wrong that they were really just crazy or drugged up he was going to be facing a very long prison sentence he closed his eyes got his breathing under control played it all out in his mind again not second guessing he'd learned long ago not to do that he replayed details trying to see if there was something he'd misread some clue he'd missed he was writing an after operations report in his mind looking for the flaw in his logic where some pogue lieutenant would try to bring him up on court-martial he sighed plenty he concluded it didn't matter if there was a clear and present danger in the end he'd gunned down unarmed people he knew fear caused hesitation and hesitation would get you killed but prosecuting attorneys didn't think like that if this wasn't a freaking apocalypse he was going to need a lawyer he pulled his phone out of his pocket dialed his wife lacy again nothing all circuits are busy please try again later he looked at the creatures outside his window a couple had seen him one was fairly lively jumping and clawing at the side of the truck the other was trying to pull itself up on the steps with a crooked arm and was getting repeatedly stepped on by the jumper he didn't sense any real danger though he was safe for the moment he felt weak drained the adrenaline had fled his body and now he just wanted to crawl back in the bunk and sleep for a minute there wasn't time for that right now he hopped out of the driver's seat over onto the passenger side and rolled down the window he climbed out and over the long kenworth hood glad this wasn't a new volvo or freight shaker with all the sloping aerodynamics that would have been all too easy to slide off of these old kenny's were just blocks and squares all flat surfaces like driving a brick wall he hopped up on the roof of the sleeper and then took a quick run and jumped the short distance to the top of the trailer kim was still in the catwalk of the main building holding the old world war ii rifle down at her side in a one-handed grip she was talking to the other driver that had blocked the windows on the driver's alley side they were trying to figure out how to get over to the catwalk it wasn't far the problem was that the kwanzan hut was rounded and the catwalk was a good 15 feet higher than the top of the trailer you could jump the building's incline wasn't too steep this high up but if you slipped well it was a long slide down to the ground as gunny made his way back to the end of the trailer kim turned and said i'm gonna get some rope or something i'll be back in a minute then she was off jogging toward the other end of the building and the roof access panel the driver who had blocked the main entrance came over to the end of this trailer and hailed gunny what the hell's going on he asked i woke up to guns and horns and screaming and wire bender yelling at me to block the doors gunny recognized pack rat the old gray-haired geezer who definitely lived up to his name he was the guy who opened his truck door and more often than not empty coffee cups or fast food rappers would fall out don't know pack rat i think the riots that have been hitting all the cities just hit three flags who the hell would wanna right here yeah squarelessly i thought wirebender done lost his mind i wasn't about to pull up in here until i saw you busting everything up like he was on a hollywood movie set reckon some buku dinky dao must be going on he spat a stream of tobacco over the edge of his truck and into the face of one of the women who had been attracted to their voices it was clawing at his trailer trying to get at the bearded old codger her sundress was hanging off of one's shoulder exposing a bra and a big hole in her breast and a bigger one on her back there were bits of broken bones sticking out of it where kim lee's thirty odd six had punched through she had a bloody chunk of one of her arms missing and a piece of her neck was gone probably bite marks he watched her for a minute then said yeah looks like we got us a zombie problem lacey atlanta day one lacey walked into the office already pissed off she had caught their 16 year old trying to hide the fact that he was making a lunch for school why are you doing that she had asked only broccoli on the menu today he was surlier than his usual grumpy morning self and she finally drugged the story out of him in monosyllabic grunts and aggravated gestures he had in-school detention again confined all day to an unused classroom with the rest of the troublemakers they were supervised only by the camera which fed directly into the secretary's office they were given their assignments that had to be turned in at the end of the day then left alone it was a private school and they took discipline very seriously it had been a lunchroom fight over something stupid this was the second time this year and it was only september if it happened again they would be looking for another school text your dad she had told him try to explain it to him johnny had been threatening him with military academy but it was an idle threat because they couldn't afford it jesse didn't know that though he's in california today but he's got a load back home so you'll be having words with him by the weekend that really put a darker cloud over his mood she hated the whole wait till your father gets home routine but it was the one thing that would set him on the straight and narrow for a little while anyway what annoyed her the most is that he still couldn't admit he had been wrong too much of his dad in him punch first punched second then punched some more that's why they hadn't been getting along very well this past year or so they were too much alike she sighed heavily as she slammed her purse down on her desk he wasn't a bad kid he usually made good grades and he wasn't on drugs or getting his girlfriend knocked up but damn if he didn't have his father's temper if he wasn't careful he would wind up making some of the same stupid mistakes johnny had she grabbed the coffee cup off her desk and walked down the hall to the break area to start the pot brewing lacey was the first in this morning she had dropped some friends off at the airport for an early flight and came on into work she had to catch up on some of the environmental reports she had been saddled with it wasn't her job she was human resources but with budget cuts everyone was doing the work of two people but that damn kid if he didn't get his temper under control he would find himself in a situation like the one that eventually landed them here in atlanta it wasn't a bad life but certainly not the one they had planned johnny wouldn't be out driving a truck and gone for weeks at a time they wouldn't have spent all their savings and a lot of their 401k if his temper hadn't gotten the best of him over in afghanistan or at the tire store back in high school for that matter she sighed again water under the bridge ancient history can't change the past she didn't dwell on it but life was strange like that no matter what you planned it never seemed to work out the way you wanted they had hope for a house full of kids and a place in the country near their hometown but their only child came late in life after they had almost given up and they sure hadn't planned on him being a little hell-raiser well she hadn't anyway johnny laughed it off as just being a kid he was probably secretly proud of him men she busied herself firing up her computer and digging out the files she needed as the pot brewed filling the little kitchenette and lunch room with the aroma of mountain grown when it had finished its cycle she poured herself a cup and walked over to the windows looking out over atlanta it was a beautiful view from 28 stories up the urban landscape of the early morning stretching out as far as she could see she watched the ribbons of headlights and taillights on the intersecting freeways in constant motion and the ever-changing lights of the digital billboards she was probably lucky she didn't have a window in her office she would never get any work done with another sigh she refilled her cup her mind was clear enough from this morning's argument to get down to doing what she got paid to do and went back to her office shutting the door behind her she looked up when she heard the scream had she actually heard it it was faint coming from far away the music from her computer speakers was playing at a low volume but she had definitely heard something she glanced up at the clock 9 15. she did a double take she should have heard the noise of all the rest of the office crew coming in a half an hour ago she stood grabbing her cup going after a refill and to see why it was so quiet it was usually barely subdued chaos around this time of the morning with everyone coming in and getting ready to start the day no phones were ringing no printers running no chatter about last night's game or who was eliminated in the latest talent show had she missed some mandatory meeting she googled her brain as she walked to the break area was today the awards ceremony no way that was always held in december she walked in to see one of the i.t guys standing at the window looking out over the city it was eric nice enough guy she walked up to stand beside him where is everybody she asked but trailed off when she saw what he was looking at out of the window what the hell was all she could say as she took in the cityscape the first thing she noticed were the fires there were dozens of them spread out everywhere she looked the flames reaching into the sky and the black smoke billowing what the hell is going on she asked dumbly noticing more the longer she looked eric said nothing just continued to stare as she took it all in the freeway is at a complete standstill pileups and wrecks everywhere the secondary streets were jammed too she thought she could see people running and attacking each other but from this high up it was hard to make out exactly what was going on are we at war she asked but eric just continued to stare out at the chaos in some kind of shock eric she said and shook him by the arm he ignored her just continued to stare she looked back over the city at the stalled and clogged roads at the fires burning unchecked in the residential neighborhoods eric she yelled this time but there was still no response she needed information she left him standing there and ran back to her office the coffee refill forgotten she logged onto the network entered her password for outside access and started searching the web for anything on the local news channels there were no local channels the live streams of the morning shows were down all of them and that was scarier than seeing all the fires one search led to another and all too quickly she had a world view of what was happening people coming back from the dead invincible to bullets mad mobs of screaming leaping hordes killing everything in their path she tried to call johnny all circuits busy she tried to call jessie all circuits busy she clasped her hands in front of her face as she watched live video feeds from different cameras around the state then around the country then around the globe she tried to call johnny again she tried to call jessie again she needed to go get him he was shut up in that room in detention if the city was in chaos the suburbs must be too her mind raced the roads were gridlocked there was no way to even move along them she needed a motorcycle hell she needed a gun that was in the glove box of her car down in the parking garage she watched the live streaming cameras from different cities she wanted to know what she was up against she watched them tearing and biting watched them leap in human distances and take people down with inhuman strength her analytical mind went into overdrive already discarding the simple explanations that didn't ring true she wasn't being pranked it wasn't rioting mobs of college kids celebrating a basketball game it wasn't a political protest it wasn't black lives matter or the ku klux klan it wasn't aliens doing this it was other people people she saw with grievous injuries people with arms completely ripped off and still attacking she was watching a zombie uprising she didn't know if the books and movies were true that the only thing that could kill a zombie was a shot to the head but she would take that as a truth for now and definitely avoid being bitten had the government known something like this could happen is that why there were so many zombie tv shows and movies and books is that why even the cdc had a how to prepare for a zombie outbreak booklet on their website she was thinking too much like some of her internet friends now a conspiracy for everything and everything a conspiracy i wonder if there's any tinfoil in the kitchen so i can make a hat she slapped herself mentally get it together girl this is real don't skits out they had a sign hanging on a tree in their driveway it had a picture of a gun and said we don't call 9-1-1 on it she dialed anyway not really expecting anything and got another all circuits are busy she needed a weapon and protective clothing she couldn't get bit part of her mind was screaming at her are you a zombie apocalypse but the other part was cold and analytical sorting the images and videos she had seen compiling it with what was outside the window it was absolute civilization ending chaos no one was going to come rescue them maybe in a few days when things settled down but right now it was every man for himself she was going into mama bear mode her baby needed her she was in her office mind racing on what was the best course of action to get to the school to get her son she had nixed the idea of stealing a motorcycle too dangerous she had seen the way these ghouls had leaped and run at anything that was still human on the traffic camera feeds around the city they would pull her off in a heartbeat she needed something big something that could drive down sidewalks and knock the little cafe tables and chairs out of the way run over parking meters if necessary a hummer maybe some urban cowboys pickup truck that had a bull bar up front the parking garage attendants had keys to a lot of the vehicles the ones that were on the lower levels in valet and long-term parking areas maybe there was a truck down there she knew you couldn't hot wire one like they do on tv all the time johnny was always quick to laugh at those situations every time one came up talking to the television and asking what about the lock steering column what about the chip and the key how are you going to release the shifter until she would have to elbow him to get him to be quiet she was looking around trying to see what could be used as a weapon before heading down to the garage when she heard a commotion in the lobby crap she should have locked the doors stupid stupid stupid her office was devoid of anything that could be used to hurt someone no ball bats no heavy art objects not even an umbrella her eyes fell in the shelves along one wall the office came with its own bookcases when she had moved up a notch on the corporate ladder a few years ago however one of the first things she had done was add a few shelves to hold some of her photos and plants holding those shelves up were large l-shaped brackets picked up at the home depot and screwed into the wall she ran over swiping everything off onto the ground the clatter of crashing planters and breaking picture glass loud in her ears louder than what she heard down the hall shouts and sounds of furniture being tipped and drug around she ripped the shelves off the brackets easily enough but had to struggle to work the screws out of the walls they finally broke free and she bent them hurriedly into u-shapes and gripped one in each hand she had something now that could be shoved into the face of any attacker it wasn't much but it was better than the little key ring knuckle duster she had in her purse she went quickly to the door and inched it open trying to see both ways down the hallway the only noises she heard were still coming from the lobby but she caught voices it sounded like mr sato his english was good but he still carried a distinct japanese accent she ran towards him to see if she could help it sounded like they were blocking the doors as she rounded the corner somebody saw her and screamed then she saw phil turn and bring his gun up towards her whoa whoa she yelled holding her hands up the brown shelf brackets wrapped around them looking like little spears she could see where they had drugged desks and filing cabinets over to the glass doors blocking them outside in the corridor she saw mangled people in business suits and dresses beating on the doors trying to force their way through there weren't many maybe eight or ten but seeing them up close for the first time drained the color from her face it was worse than anything she could have imagined the fury as they fought each other to get to the living was unreal and unrelenting they were tearing each other apart out there as she watched a man in a shredded suit pulled a huge hank of hair out of a woman who was pressed against the glass trying to force her way through she was jerked backward and the suited man took her place his bloodied hands and face against the door smearing it with gore from the handful of bloody scalp he still clung to the pounding was relentless but the doors shouldn't break they were tempered safety glass and they were in steel frames they'll hold she told herself there were a half dozen people in the lobby and they quickly went back to stacking and dragging things in front of the door she joined in tipping over a bookcase and struggling with it until phil came over and helped her put it in place after a few minutes they had a substantial barrier that went all the way from the doors to the solid wood at the base of the receptionist's desk there was no way for the doors to open now but if the glass broke well that was a different story those things could probably force their way through the pile of office furniture if it did lacey looked around at the frightened sweaty faces she recognized a few by sight but the only ones she knew were her boss mr sato eric and phil he was one of the security guards that manned the station on the ground floor he was a burly black man quick to laugh and smile but also quick to run off anyone causing trouble or panhandling on the sidewalk out front he had been the first person she had met years ago when she entered the building slightly scared and slightly desperate resume in hand he had escorted her to the 28th story and on the way up in the long elevator ride that seemed to stop at every floor they had struck up a friendship it was him more than her carefully prepared resume that had gotten her the job plenty of qualified applicants had applied but he had walked her right past reception and directly into the human resources office told the hr director this was the one he had a feeling about her then he nodded and walked out heading back to his post she had really really needed the job johnny had been kicked out of the army over that incident in afghanistan nearly two years before and had been unable to find work the savings was gone her 401k cashed in she had gotten the job and she had thanked him profusely even bought him a new holster for his gun with her first paycheck when she noticed his was looking a little threadbare everybody get away from the doors phil said they don't see us maybe they wander off i've got coffee in the break room lacey said everybody this way and led the unfamiliar people away from the receiving area and towards the lunchroom the coffee was still hot but it was going on three hours old no one seemed to care as they got their cups and either sat down looking exhausted or wandered over to the window to stare out of the chaos anyone that had a phone was trying to dial numbers and then sharing with the ones that didn't no one was getting through what happened downstairs phil lacey asked as he was the last to pour doctoring his cup up with plenty of sugar and milk he didn't look over at her just slowly stirred and poured methodically making his coffee just the way he liked it it happened fast miss lacey there was a disturbance outside and jerry went over to see what was going on we had both just come on duty and i was still running over the paperwork for shift change one minute early birds was coming in like normal the next the next everybody done going crazy i saw jerry go down when he tried to break up a fight i saw him fall thought his head get ripped in there to clean off saw enough blood shoot out of him to kill any man before i could get to the door i saw him get back up and start running after people biting them lacey didn't say anything didn't know if there was anything to say to that she dumped the remainder of the coffee out in the sink and started making another pot it was a few people running for the doors and i let them in and locked up behind them we was all just standing around not believing what we are seeing then some guy came running at us from across the lobby crazy like the ones outside i put two bullets in them and they didn't even slow down jumped on ole miss cotton from 14th floor i ran up and put one in his head before he'd stopped chewing on her lacey poured the water into the brewmaster and dug the coffee and filters out of the cabinet listening with dread and a feeling of sickness in her stomach we tried to help her stop the bleeding and such there's a first aid kit at the security desk he went on almost in a monotone his language slipping back to the way he used to talk in the streets before he had landed this job in the corporate world he was remembering but trying not to see it again in his mind's eye she turned into one of them too by the time we had the bandages on she was trying to bite me only took one bullet that time though i knew where to shoot he hadn't taken a sip of his coffee yet still stirred the already thoroughly mixed contents lacey hit the button on the machine to get the next pot started and laid a hand on his massive arm stopping the stirring action she squeezed no words possible no words needed phil seemed to shake himself internally gave her a little half smile and put the cup to his lips blowing it to cool it down a little that's when mr sato from the 28 said he had a satellite phone in his office he went on everybody was trying to call and nobody was getting anything other than busy signals not even that just being disconnected for it even rang so we started to head up here but while we was waiting for the elevators a bunch of those crazes came in through the mezzanine entrance i didn't even have enough bullets to take them all down so we ran for the stairs there were a lot more of us in the lobby when all this started miss lacy i don't know if they split off and hit her they got taken down in the stairwell i was first in maybe i should have been last i don't know i was just trying to make us a path up here we went up to the third floor and ran to the elevators there i made it in but when we got out here there were a bunch of them in the hallway the rest of the store you know that's about when i almost shot you he grinned a little glad i didn't he added me too lacey said is there any way to get down to the parking garage phil i need to get out of here i need to get to the school to get my kid he shook his head no way the garage is open to the street it's probably full of those things miss lacy you haven't been out there among them they are faster than us they are stronger than us they nearly invincible you couldn't pay me any amount of money to go back down there not until the police of the army gets things cleaned up mr sato the ceo of the american division of satoshiri electronics came bustling back into the room with a satellite phone in his hand and announced that he had made contact with someone in the governor's office they had assured him that the army would be out soon to get things back under control and yes of course they would be evacuating personnel from the rooftops with helicopters there was a quiet cheer as a small crowd greeted the news did they say when someone asked do we need to get up there right now another added fear evident in his quavering voice how we get past those things in the hall mr sato looked at a loss with all the questions flying toward him and people talking over one another as lacey handed him a cup of coffee phil raised his hands and made shushing motions settle down people i don't think we need to leave here just yet we have a clear view of the city when we see the army and the national guard clearing the streets or we see the chopper start coming in then we can head to the roof the elevators will take us almost all the way i have the keys to the access door so we're only five minutes away when we need to be there was an audible sigh of relief from the harried office workers just 10 minutes before they had been out in the hallways and stairwells and had seen half of their number killed or bitten drugged down and savagely attacked with claws and teeth they had no desire to go back out there just then lacey's phone sounded off with a toot of a big chuck's air horn the text toned from johnny it was like a minor miracle a message had gotten through in the collapsing overused digital network i got a text she announced and reached for her phone everyone else caught on quickly and pulled theirs out and instead of trying to place voice calls they started to text message hoping theirs would make it through the overworked system chapter six as gunny came down the ladder off the catwalk and into the back of the kitchen tiny was there waiting to go up he had the garen slung over his shoulder a box of shells in his jacket pocket a two-way radio clipped to his belt gunny raised his eyebrows questioningly cobb wants a watch can't see much out of any of the windows now tiny said gunny nodded then asked is billy okay gumball and aussie make it in here ozzy did ain't seeing gumball you get bit in that scuffle yeah him and a couple other guys i don't know they back at docks ask gunny yeah tiny said this is some crazy man you ought to go see cobb he's down there with him the big man was subdued saddened as he turned towards the ladder gunny laid a hand on him you get a hold of tonya he asked tiny just shook his head and mounted the ladder heading up to take first watch kenny cut through the back way into the kitchen through the storerooms and out into the back of the main building he knew what tiny was going through tanya his wife worked in downtown birmingham kenny's wife worked in atlanta both bad situations if this were everywhere he needed to see wirebender see if there was any news from the internet or any of the ham operators near home gunny knew this route through the maze of storerooms because he had helped cobb carry in some produce that had fallen off a truck more than once through these doors many of the drivers would give martha anything extra they had and when dealing with fruits and vegetables there was always something extra receivers would reject whole cases if there were only one bad orange spotted melons if they were a day late arriving at the docks boxes of stakes if the thermometer readings weren't right on just one sample martha passed the savings on to her customers she and cookie would always whip up something from whatever she was given and it was the daily special many of the tourists couldn't believe they could get a slice of peach cobbler for 50 cents or a five dollar steak gunny had to pass doc's little office before he got to the cb shop then looked in as he walked by wirebender seemed to know what they were facing and had said everything was under control so he wasn't worried about anyone else turning he figured they had been isolated or something what he saw stopped him in his tracks apparently no one else did know what they were facing the biker girl was grim-faced and stoic finished with crying putting the finishing wraps on deputy travajo's arm as he sat grey-faced in one of the waiting room chairs doc's assistant stacy was there she was a night school nursing student who worked for him during the week she had aussie laying in the reception counter his pants cut off to above the knee and was trying to clean and flush the nasty looking bite wound on his leg billy held his radio with his free hand but there was no chatter on it gunny looked for any of the other men who had been bitten from the brawl in the parking lot the guy who had been scratched was sitting in one of the other chairs holding a towel across his chest he glanced around for the other biker or the painter they both got it pretty bad these guys all seemed okay they weren't going to die or anything where's the other biker he asked gumball gumball took off so did a bunch of other guys ozzy grimaced through the pain the bikers on the table in the back stacey replied we did what we could with what we have he needs to get to town to the hospital not sure if that's going to happen anytime soon gunny said if it's as bad and reno's here there won't be any ambulances free to run up this way he walked past the desk and into the examination room the biker was laying on his stomach a big gauze pad that was starting to seep red taped to the back of his neck his face was a mess from where he had had it crammed into the asphalt he had his eyes closed there was a long strip of his scalp and hair missing they had also bandaged gunny shook him a little then stepped back hey you awake he asked one hand firmly on his gun huh the guy said hey just hang on buddy i'm gonna wheel you to the other room he said he didn't like this he had seen how fast the guy in the parking lot had turned moaning in pain one minute ripping off throats the next this guy was barely coherent and he knew he wasn't doped up because doc didn't keep meds in here this was just a place where truckers could pay their 60 bucks and get their medical card stamped for another two years or pay a little more if there was a little something wrong with them and still get it stamped for two years he was kind of surprised they even had bandages but he supposed the board of health checked up on these places from time to time so they had to at least look official he released the locking wheels of the exam table and started to roll him out into the waiting room in the corridor beyond stacy looked up from ozzy's leg she was irrigating are you taking him to the hospital she asked now to the weight room gunny replied it'll be safer in there wait she cried out it's filthy in there there's infection to think about yes there is gunny thought he looked at ozzy in the shirtless man the only other two people who had seen someone go from human to dead to monster in a matter of seconds they looked at the biker lying face down and unresponsive he had lost a lot of blood does that thing have straps strap him down ozzy said a little bit of panic in his eyes i'll help the shirtless man jumped up and hurried across the room holding open the door where's the other guy the painter that kid brought in gunny asked as he wheeled him out into the corridor he didn't make it stacy said he didn't have a pulse or anything so we laid him in the freezer gunny stopped and looked at her disbelief evident on his face he was dead she said defensively i didn't know what to do and that was the only option i had for now that's all good gunny said i'll check on him he turned a hard left out of the office and started a run pushing the heavy examination table in front of him go down to the shop he yelled at the man running beside him and helping to steer the table grab some ratchet straps there's a bunch in the side box in a wagon it's there in the second bay the man took off at a dead sprint gunny was a little impressed the guy seemed unflappable he had a good build the muscles and his dark skin defined as he sprinted either he hadn't been trucking very long or he kept up an exercise regime no stupid questions no hesitation he pegged him as a marine maybe infantry definitely military of some kind he stopped just short of the door to the gym and pulled it open then quickly got the front of the table in before it could close he chose this place because it was as far away from the central area as possible and the doors had big handles that could be chained shut he thought he could tie him to one of the machines but if they strapped him down that probably wouldn't be necessary the man came hustling back in by the time gunny had the biker in the back of the room and they quickly wrapped the poor bastard in three inch wide heavy duty straps and tightened them down not too snug but enough he wouldn't be slipping out of them if he turned they looked at each other over the table both still breathing a little hard gunny glanced down at the scratches on the man's chest they had started bleeding again but it wasn't bad mostly from his nearly missing nipple yeah he said an acknowledgement of gunny's look at his chest i got a very serious vested interest on how this all turns out gunny nodded stuck at his hand and they call me gunny he said as they headed out of the room i've heard the man said i'm hot rod vet gunny ass no he said i knew what gunny was really asking how are you so cool under pressure not freaking out like most civilians would i raced dirt track in stock cars wheeled the wheel at a buck fifty done it for years he smiled and held up his arm for gunny to see oh at least i used to there was a long wide scar going from the inside of his bicep all the way down to his wrist ragged looking on his coffee brown skin reflex is not what they used to be now i truck i'm headed to check the freezer you sterilize those scratches yet yeah raw alcohol hot rod replied gunny grimaced it stung a bit he deadpanned i'm gonna smear some antibacterial in these now that they mostly stop bleeding keep an eye on billy gunny said ozzy too you saw how fast they turn if they die then he took off at a jog to the big walk-in freezer as he passed back by the radio shop he saw a dozen drivers in there crowded around wirebender's counter and his computer scratch and cob among them he opened the door and yelled for scratch who still had the m4 cobb came too seeing more than ordinary concern on gunny's face sit rep he barked gunny spit it out as fast as he could well if the wounded and doc's office die they'll turn into one of those things i saw it happen in the parking lot twice before he could say anything else cobb had already pointed scratch in that direction yeah make sure no one else gets mangled he told him and scratch was double timing instantly gunny barely believes it old cobb hadn't even batted an eye just took it for gospel next gunny was caught up short for a second he had intended to send scratch down there himself because he had the m4 and now he had to get his train of thought back so much was happening all at once next cobb said a little louder um the biker's strapped down in the weight room he's bad off and he'll probably turn secure cobb assed yeah gunny said ratchet straps off my truck next cobb barked again stacy put that painter guy from the gas pumps in the freezer said he was dead that's bad he said and started running gunny had to hustle to keep up they went the back way into the kitchen area and both breathed a sigh of relief to see the freezer door still closed there was no way to lock someone in it was a safety feature that all he had to do was push against the big release bar inside to spring the door wide open cookie was still at the grill on the other side of the room really he said over his shoulder you're putting bodies in my freezer there might not be a body gunny replied and drew his gun as he approached the door he looked at cobb oh where's your pea shooter he asked i gave it to tommy got a few of them checking the fence behind the shop make sure there ain't no holes in it that's the weak side of the building i must have been down there when she told him to put the body in here cobb side i'm getting too old for this but you guys did good out front he continued it's about as secure as it can be that was some fast thinking son you would have made a good marine gunny nodded not knowing what to say he'd never heard cobb give out a compliment before maybe hell had frozen over cobb looked around the kitchen for a weapon he could use then opened the oven and grabbed one of the oversized racks out of it gunny gave him a quizzical look i wasn't planning on cooking him he said let's come back from the dead i don't want you splattering brains all over the freezer cop growled i'll push him against the back wall and you can plug him don't go shooting like some air force puke either one shot don't fill my freezer full of holes they're kind of strong gunny said looking at the old man out of the corner of his eye as he reached for the handle to open the door you're saying i'm not cobb said a menace in his growl as he held the oversized rack up in front of him like a shield no but they're really freaking fast too open the door you panty warren girl cops spat out and readied his heavy rack to slam into the creature if it came snarling out gunny jerked the door open wide and brought the glock up in a two-handed grip to steady his aim as cobb took half a step forward then stopped it was there standing upright but moving in slow motion frost and ice already hanging off it in a sub-zero walk-in it heard them and growled deep in its chest and they could see it straining to reach them it over balanced and toppled face first to the floor gunny shut the door well that's interesting he said at least we know there won't be a problem in the winter that bastard was frozen solid cobb said we should still kill it gunny said it's still dangerous if it thaws out of course we should cobb rasped out but now we don't have to make a mess we can wrap it in a tarp so we don't blow its brains all over the ice cream all right gunny said i'll grab one from the store but there's no rush i've got to get with wirebender see if he's heard anything from the hams back home cobb nodded told cookie to watch his step if he went in there and said go on i'll get pac rat or one of the others to give me a hand probably just shove a k bar through its melon quieter that way i need to talk to the folks in the diner pass on what little info billy could get from the radio what did he say they sending out some more deputies over here trying to figure this mess out he tell him we needed an ambulance cobb looked at him for a minute realizing that gunny had just come in off the roof and hadn't heard any of the radio chatter from billy's two-way no he said quietly pulling a lucky strike from his pack and inhaling on it unlit there ain't nobody coming billy was in contact with the office they had heard from reno total foobar sheriff's office sounded panicked they quit responding after there was some gunfire heard over the channel most of billy's deputies even weren't answering or were screaming for backup themselves last thing you heard from him was a couple was holed up in the office making their way to the jail cells and nothing sounded like there was a scuffle don't know if they made it or not they aren't answering the radio gunny was stunned that fast how did it all go from a few isolated fights or riots or incidences to complete meltdown so quickly is this airborne he asked panic starting to sound in his voice how did it spread so fast it's got to be some kind of attack is it all over just here is there some sort of government chemical lab around here you're gonna lose it on me too cobb barked at him his hard eyes fixed on gunnies buckle up snowflake we got work to do gunny stared at him for a minute breathing quickly processing what cobb had just said then closed his eyes taking it all in cities have fallen in a matter of hours no way it's impossible sore zombies you just killed two of them cities have fallen thousands no millions of these things were out there right now zombies what are you gonna do what is most important right here right now prioritize gunny reached his hand up to his forehead stretching out his thumb to form a sea with his fingers in a slow measured fluid motion he raked his hand down his body he closed his chakras all of them completely he would deal with all this later it was a trick he had learned in his mandatory counseling sessions to determine his mental stability before he was quietly handed his walking papers he was told never to darken the door of any government institution again army navy air force marines coast guard national guard reserves all ties severed don't call us we'll call you he had asked if that included the irs they were not amused he didn't know if he really had chakras to close or if it was all just a mumbo-jumbo new age calming device but either way it worked the one good thing that came out of those hour-long sessions twice a week was a way to close off his mind to slow down the nightmares to contain his rage before it got out of control to shut off emotions for a while to get his head space and timing back in order he opened his eyes to cobb still staring at him i'm good he said breathing evenly calm again i'm gonna go talk to wire bender and then grab a tarp and take care of this but i don't have a good knife you have keys to switch blade shop cobb unhooked a big ring of keys from his belt loop handing them to gunny it's mark switchblade doesn't open until nine i don't think he's gonna make it gunny took them and started to turn away get a good one bob said he keeps those in the glass cases ain't got a key for them you have to snap the lock now i gotta go tell these people it ain't just the three flags the whole damn world is melting down cobb sighed seeming to sag and look older than ever gunny felt a bit sorry for him it wasn't a job he would have wanted he looked out past cookie at a diner half full of people who didn't have the experiences with hardship and death that most of the drivers here had been through most of them weren't going to take it very well he looked back at the haggard old man semper fi top he said softly cobb seemed to shake himself her romped and spat out as lucky oh she got some business to be attendant to he growled but gunny saw his shoulder straighten and his back become stiff again as he turned and stomped out of the kitchen switchblade's knife shop the cutting edge was near the main hall and carried a vast assortment of knives and swords and other less than lethal weapons he had paperweights cleverly disguised as brass knuckles he had props from every movie that ever had a sword or fancy knife in it tons of cheap chinese knives and like cobb had said a small selection of quality knives locked away in display cases these weren't his best sellers why buy a 200 knife when you didn't need it you could buy a whole handful of 20 knives that looked cool and came in garish colors for the same money after he had let himself in gunny grabbed a sweet looking dagger with a sack of skulls for a handle and stuck it in the little lock to snap it off the showcase it snapped at the hilt so he grabbed a bright green knife that looked like a snake was curling around the grip it didn't do much better although the blade lasted longer than the plastic handle sighing he looked behind the counter and saw a screwdriver it snapped a little lock right off switchblade didn't have many high quality knives only a few dozen but they really were top shelf genuine k-bars gerbers and a few sog seal team knives and hnks among others gunny just grabbed a gerber because the sheath was right there with it and it looked as sturdy as any of the others he slid into his belt then finally headed down to the cb shop to see if there was any news from the atlanta area as he passed doc's office he could see scratch standing near the entrance door talking to hot rod but he was a good distance from the others gunny smiled to himself remembering a quote from general mad dog mattis be polite be professional but have a plan to kill everybody you meet it looked like scratch was doing just that as he opened the door to the cluttered radio shop he could hear the sound of a dozen different voices over the cbs and ham and shortwaves they were vying to be heard over the televisions and internet feeds from around the world on all the monitors he had rigged up a visit to his den was always a headache-inducing endeavor if he didn't like the sound of background static and roger beeps and distant voices over loudspeakers but now he had really cranked it up a few notches some of the guys noticed him as he came in and gave him nods yeah cobb said those things were all over the place that true he asked raising his voice to be heard over the pandemonium coming from the speakers he looked around at the multiple monitors and screens and saw the answer on their faces without being told wirebender finished talking to someone on one of the ham radios noticed gunny then hit a switch quieting the cacophony down so he wouldn't have to yell to be heard saw what you did out there man he said in his somewhat ready voice nodding towards the closed circuit video monitors on the back wall the whole five minutes was on replay on one of the screens it looped from the time the couple on the bikes left to him and pac-rat climbing up out of view towards the catwalk he watched it for a minute saw himself shoot the little mexican kid in the face then turned away to see the rest of the men staring at him hard men with hard faces are they judging did they think they could have done it better were they monday morning quarterbacking what he had to do grizz finally spoke up and said i don't know if i could have done it bro that was some pipe hitting then held his massive fist up for gunny to bump the tension broke and there were a few pats on his back and that had to be done and thank god he didn't get your ass bit comment then truckers being who they were somebody had to crack wise about gunny's bowlegged run then they were chuckling over the ferrari he had plowed into gunny went to the counter and wirebender was sitting there surrounded by his electronics like an all-knowing oracle like he had been waiting for this ever since gunny had walked in the door at lana he asked not good wirebender said i got on the horn with some guys i know in the area about the time you were introducing mr kenworth to mr ferrari he tucked the length of long gray hair behind his ear only when i'm answered he's way on the sticks he hadn't seen anything as far as atlanta proper man it's about the same as everywhere else all hell broke loose around seven or eight o'clock their time i've been up since way early watching this develop it's not just here gunny while we were sleeping most of europe went through this it's like it's following the path of the sun or something people wake up and turn zombie i didn't think it could happen here though gunny watched the televisions the internet channels it was the same all over fire mayhem zombies police and full riot gear and some of the east coast tv stations aren't even broadcasting half the sites i go to for real news in germany and france and england aren't there anymore i scan the radio dials and you don't hear voices just music playlists on repeat probably but if it's been going on around the world maybe following the sun as you say why haven't we been warned you know the military the government has been watching all this one of the drivers said maybe it was all too fast another opined if it comes with the sun by the time washington realized it was happening here it already had how can the sun make people turn into zombies gunny ass there's no way unless he thought for a minute unless we're already infected with something and the sun is the catalyst that sets it off it was a stupid idea but no one could come up with anything else that was even remotely more plausible it was getting hot in the overcrowded room and gunny started edging his way out he still needed to get rid of the thing in the freezer and watching all the footage in the news reports had left him utterly resolute he now had no qualms whatsoever about putting one of those things zombies down there was no shred of human left in them as far as he was concerned as he slipped to the door he pulled his phone out to check for any text that may have been missed in the noise and confusion and saw that there were two of them he breathed the heavy sigh of relief and hurley swiped the screen to read the rest of the messages they were both from his wife the first must have been sent much earlier but they both came through at the same time it read dropping terry and linda off at the airport this morning he said you can use his boat but don't drink all his beer this time lol your boy has been fighting again i'm out of oranges can you pick up some from one of those roadside stands avocados too xoxo the other one read been trying to call you for hours can't get through thank god you're okay if you're reading this then you know what's happening haven't heard from jesse but he had in-school detention if he stays put he will be okay i'm at work but a group of us have barricaded ourselves on the 28th floor we have phil with us he has killed two of them so far we are okay for now going to get to the roof mr sato said the army would rescue people off rooftops once i'm off i'll get jessie i love you honey please be safe we will probably be in an army camp when you get back xoxoxo gunny leaned against the wall almost weak with relief lacey was okay she was at work that sucked would have been better if she wasn't but she was safe they had 30 more stories to go to get to the roof he wondered why they didn't just hop in the elevator and go phil was a security guard and gunny had seen that he carried a pistol when he'd met him on a few of the occasions he had taken her out to lunch her boss mr sato was there with him that was good he was the ceo and if he said the army was rescuing people he must have a connection somewhere they were setting up refugee camps he hadn't heard or seen that on any of the news feeds they'd been watching but that didn't mean anything things weren't as bad as all that if the army had birds out pulling people from rooftops and jesse was in detention but that was good too he knew from hearing him describe how isolated unfair and horrible it was the last time he wound up in there locked up in a dungeon was how he put it no cafeteria lunch he had to bring one from home or go hungry had to beg for bathroom breaks no phone no ipod a camera watching your every move just a notebook paper and one book oh the unfairness of it all he told him to take his fights off the school grounds next time lacey had told him to walk away and not resort to violence whatever it wasn't raising a nancy boy his family was safe that was good now all he had to do was drive 2400 miles through zombie infested country find the right refugee camp and collect them piece of cake jesse detention day one jesse was taking care not to bob his head to the beat of the music the earbuds ran carefully up his sleeve out the top of his shirt and hidden under his collar-length hair of course the ipod was strictly forbidden in detention and that was why everyone had one or their phone it was going on 10 o'clock and the essay he had to have finished by the end of the day was nearly done the old man always said if you had a job to do just buckle down and get it over with not that he'd follow any advice the old man gave but he didn't want to spend another day in this hell hole of boredom so he'd knock out the assignment and then knock out kyle farson's teeth after school and off school property he's the bastard that got him in this mess then when the old man got home he'd have to deal with him being pissed off and going on about military school if he screwed up one more time kyle would pay for that too busted nose maybe black both his eyes or not he knew he would just let it go but it felt good to dream of revenge jesse didn't think of himself as a badass or anything it's just that these private school kids were all a bunch of pansies he'd been raised up on a military bases and even after his dad got out he still went to the daycare and school on base because his mom worked there as a civilian military kids were pretty rough and tumble they played hard and weren't molly coddled when it came to scrapes and cuts more than once he'd heard what are you crying about i don't see a bone sticking out when they moved to atlanta he kept up with his old karate classes and when he got in his teens the old man had started showing him some really devious fighting moves stuff they didn't teach at the dojo stuff that he had to swear never to use unless he was prepared to be arrested and may be sent off to jail stuff only to be employed in a life or death situation brutal moves this old man said he'd been trained in while he was in the army things like eye gouging elbow breaking and neck snapping moves designed to kill are permanently maim with the knowledge that he could crush anyone that came up against him he had walked away from a lot of fights i'd let them push him and call him a or whatever because in his mind's eye he could see the outcome could see the jerk laying on the ground screaming in agony in about two seconds and that was enough just knowing he would win but mr my dad is a lawyer kyle farson iii had caught him off guard with a blow to the back of his head had knocked his lunch tray out of his hands and sent it flying across the floor true he'd call him a gobbling douche nozzle but that wasn't enough reason to sucker punch him jesse had kicked out on instinct and followed up with a few punches before he stopped himself by then it was too late all the teachers saw was him pummeling on the richest kid in the school didn't matter that kyle had started the whole thing poor little kyle was laying on the floor with the wind knocked out of him and bleeding from a split lip and jesse didn't even have his hair messed up so unfair jesse looked up from his writing he thought he'd heard something sheila was staring at him with an exasperated look obviously trying to get his attention had he been singing along with the music he moved his hand to his pocket and hit the pause button then nodded his head in a what gesture they never knew when someone from the office would be looking at the monitor or when they would turn the sound up to listen in to ensure there was no talking in the room but he heard it now heard what she must have been trying to get his attention about he could hear screaming faint but definitely there they were in the basement of the school in the mostly unused section now that the new wing had been added a dozen years back the only classrooms down here that were still used on a regular basis were the practice rooms band cheerleaders the glee club basically anybody that was loud and of course detention jesse glanced around the room everyone was listening now nobody was pretending to do their work while playing on their phones or zoning out to music definitely screams he looked up and went to the door trying to see out the frosted window nothing the door was locked but he tried it anyway jiggling the knob sheila had walked up to the camera and was waving her arms at it saying hello hello what's going on gary rolled over in his wheelchair and cupped his hands against the door's window trying to see out but it was useless the glass was too opaque to make on anything definite just a single running figure that darted by fire drill doug asked standing behind the wheelchair looking over his head also trying to see out of the frosted glass we would have heard the alarm gary said another shadowy shape ran by and he started pounding on the door yelling for them to open it whoever it was kept going this is so weird sheila said giving up waving at the camera i heard if you even get out of your chair someone is on the speaker telling you to sit down this was her first time in detention a result of getting caught texting for the third time during class yeah sure enough gary said he had been here a few times before his poor attitude and angry outbursts always seeming to land him in hot water he had only been paralyzed for a few years was still trying to adjust to it the dirt bike wrecked that had broken his back hadn't even been that bad he had just landed a small jump wrong and woke up in the hospital paralyzed from the waist down he couldn't even remember how it happened he was one of those popular kids who got along with everybody the jocks the stoners and the nerds it didn't matter to him he was usually an upbeat and friendly guy and the teachers had let him slide on a lot of things sometimes he went too far and found himself in the dungeon paying for his outburst with a day of monotony and boredom his black moods and depression which had plagued him since the accident seemed to finally be lifting a little and his competitive spirit was coming back he had recently taken up wheelchair racing and was concentrating on more of the computer science classes finding he had a knack for it doug walked over to the call box and pushed the button it was supposed to be used to call the office if there was an emergency or if someone needed a bathroom pass he pressed it repeatedly but no one answered he was the jokester of the group one of his pranks went a little too far and he wound up down in the basement with the rest of the miscreants jesse rattled the door again jerking on the knob trying to get it to force open this is a load of bull he said isn't there laws against locking people in what if there really is a fire or something the woodland academy of higher learning for the woefully inadequate does not have to abide by such pedestrian rules old chap doug and toned in his best british snobbery voice jesse grinned despite himself well i guess if there's a reason for us to bust out we just throw a chair through the window but he was concerned and getting more so they heard another scream somewhere far away sheila had her phone out and had been trying to call the front office but wasn't getting anything just an all-circuit's busy recording everyone else brought theirs out and tried various numbers all with the same results try text gary said it may get through the date packet for messages is tiny jesse's first text was to his mom and was tongue-in-cheek something going on trapped in the dungeon offices and answering the buzzer may have to make a jailbreak the guys finished a few texts a piece and then watched sheila as she typed away on her phone her fingers moving at incredible speed you writing a book doug asked she looked up and saw them all staring at her and was getting ready to answer with something snarky when they heard a group of people running by the door with ragged breaths and a guttural howling thing fly by the window after them they stared at each other all humor gone and edged back over to the door trying to see anything through the opaque glass it was more running more howling things and the sounds of doors slamming and breaking windows then screams of terror and pain at the end of the corridor jesse looked down at the doorknob now very glad it was locked what's that gary started but couldn't find the words and trailed off not a fire drill not a joke of some kind the screams were real they were the terrified and filled with pain kind of screams that couldn't be faked school shooter he finally asked a little lamely no one had the answer things had just gotten real joke time was over they had just heard people die they were sure of it whatever was going on out there was really happening as teenagers raised on a steady diet of horror movies video games and comic books they probably accepted the unexplainable faster and more readily than the grown-ups werewolves gary asked in a half whisper not really believing it could be it's daytime no moon jessie whispered without thinking they could still hear the sounds of the dying vampires sheila asked not unless they're the sparkly kind doug said in a hush tone god i wish i had those legs gary whispered vehemently slamming his fists down on his useless ones in frustration they all knew what he was talking about they'd heard him mention them often enough where he went to do his rehabilitation therapy there were a set of mechanical legs that he could strap on and operate with hand controls he couldn't actually run in them but he was able to move around a lot better than he could in the chair the only problem was the cost insurance didn't cover them and his parents didn't have an extra hundred grand laying around they all glanced at his chair at his limited mobility what had been an incredible inconvenience before might now be a death sentence a shadowy figure lurched by the door and sheila gave a short little involuntary gasp it stopped as if listening everyone froze in place eyes wide jessie making a shushing motion at her she covered her mouth with both hands her eyes huge and full of terror a hand slapped against the window leaving a trail of dark liquid in its wake and she jumped squeaked out a stifled cry it heard and the door rattled violently as it threw itself against it hands trying to reach through the opaque glass it started howling and keening and soon it was joined by more they could see the outlines of half a dozen bodies through the frosted glass all of them clawing at it it was only a matter of time before one of them swung a fist hard enough to break through and then it would be all over they backed away jesse and gary both looking for something to use as a weapon and they heard a chilling high-pitched scream out in the hall it sounded like it was coming from the boiler room at the end of the corridor the things outside abandoned the door they were trying to get through and ran howling towards the sound of sheer panic the screaming didn't last long chapter 7 gunny left the cb shop and walked up to docks to check on the deputy ozzie and hot rod he stepped over to scratch as he walked in quietly asking is everything okay scratch nodded to the affirmative but he was well away from the rest of them near the door trying to act nonchalant about being in the doctor's office with a rifle in his arms his finger was off the trigger but right there near it ozzy was pale now and lying flat on the countertop his leg bandaged and elevated on a pillow billy chavajo had both girls hovering over him and he was completely sprawled out on the couch breathing shallowly hot rod found his shirt somewhere and had put it on although he had an apprehensive look about him he seemed no worse than before i think we should at least tie their feet gunny said to scratch when he saw they were getting worse you saw how fast they moved yeah he said but cobb told me to stay here can you grab some rope i'm on it gunny said and left headed towards the mechanic's base he noticed pack rat and a couple of the drivers in the weight room but kept going towards the garage he didn't have any rope on his truck but he was sure tommy had some in the shop somewhere when he walked in there was a flurry of activity going on all of the mechanics and a few of the drivers were busy barricading the windows at the back of the shop out of the front windows there was another rig parked lengthwise effectively blocking them from any flailing zombie attack the back windows were within the perimeter fencing but gunny knew that fence was old it had probably been there for 20 years he jogged over to his truck found his box of ammo and reloaded the nearly empty magazine in his glock then dumped the rest in his jacket pocket he spotted cobb's son tommy helping hold a piece of angle iron over a window while one of his mechanics welded it to the steel wall of the closet hut he saw that they were doing this for all of the windows basically making bars close enough together that no human sized forms could get through hey tommy gunny yelled over the noise of the welder's arcing and the hissing of the cutting torches tommy looked up made sure the angle iron had enough of a weld on it to hold it in place then headed over to meet gunny in the middle of the shop you got any rope he asked some people have been bitten it's probably best to restrain him in case they turn yeah tommy said over in the parts room there's someone a spool i got it and if you need any of that wood off my trailer take whatever you want gunny said indicating his flatbed that was in the second bay loaded with fine new england lumber thanks tommy said with a half smile but we're using steel for now a little stronger gunny watched him head over to another flatbed a few bays over loaded with angle iron and rebar and grabbed another long piece to drag over to the man with the cutting torch tommy was a marine too once a marine always a marine as they say but he did his four years and got out served honorably but it just wasn't his thing tommy was cobb's only son and he probably joined just to keep up the family tradition and keep cobb off his back his heart was in turning wrenches and building things he had grown up in the three flags with his mother and grandparents whenever cobb was off on another of his seemingly endless deployments occasionally they would go live with him when he was stationed in the states for a few years at a time but it always seemed temporary the truck stop was home tommy's kids kim lee and daniel had played and worked there ever since they were born kimmy helping in the kitchen danny washing trucks and following the mechanics around daniel was in the marines now still in his training rotations unlike his dad he'd eagerly jumped in with both feet and had been selected for force recon fourth generation marine and an officer to boot gunny bet old cobb couldn't wait to hang his honor box up on the wall behind the missing man table he was just waiting for him to get some more ribbons or medals so there would be something to display he cut a few lengths of rope off the spool with the gerber strapped to his leg then headed back to the dock's office there was quite a commotion going on in the weight room as he passed all of the drivers were standing near the middle of the room staring at the thrashing man strapped to the examination table gunny sighed he knew that biker was going to turn he hurried on down to docks the thing in the table wasn't going anywhere and maybe someone would take care of it put it out of its misery he rushed in and without preamble just started tying ozzy's feet in a tight hobble he would still be able to walk albeit short steps but if he tried to run he would fall in his face toss him one of those scratch said indicating hot rod gunny did and hot rod started to hopple his own feet leaving a little more room to walk than gunny had given ozzie i want to be able to get away from these guys he said in his defense when he noticed scratch giving him a hard look they look like man i'm scared but i ain't feeling anything nothing like them i has a point gunny said and scratch relented a little the girls weren't paying much attention to them they were fussing over billy with cold cloths trying to get his fever down ozzy had a wet towel over his forehead also the biker girl kept glancing back at aussie and then looked up to gunny from where she was kneeling by the couch maybe you should tie his hands too she said as she held hers out for a piece of the rope to secure billy's legs they're both fading fast that must be some seriously virulent saliva hot rod looked scared his brown skin was ashen as he sat there in the borrowed shirt texting on his phone maybe his last goodbye to someone back home he caught gunny staring at him and kind of half grimaced half smiled i wanted to apologize for running out on you out there in the parking lot man i lost it i was scared to death when that dude came at you he trailed off i should have stayed to help he finished quietly gunny shook his head poor guy making his peace with the world i probably would have run too don't worry about it you getting the fever yet no he said i didn't get bit just scratched i'm feeling okay all things considered he's not showing any of the signs these two did the biker girl said finishing the knots on billy's hands and feet stacy stood up from the deputy and walked over to hot rod placing the back of her hand against his forehead she wasn't quite a nurse yet but she had started her last year of school so she was the closest thing they had to a medical professional working at doc's little clinic allowed her the time she needed to study during the day because business was usually pretty slow a little warm not bad she declared i'm starting to think that only the saliva is the carrier for this virus are bacteria or whatever it is you don't think it's airborne gunny asked i kinda doubt it no one seems to have any symptoms other than bite victims i'm getting a clearer picture now what we're dealing with after talking to these guys and seeing the reactions have you checked the other biker out lately stacy asked his name is brian the leather-clad girl said she looked at gunny waiting for an answer i'm sorry he said to her he's some changed he's like the ones in the parking lot she nodded these two are gonna change also she said matter-of-factly normally i would say we need to secure them somewhere until help arrives but let's face it help isn't coming i heard that policemen's radio they were screaming and crying and dying all of them i've accepted it now someone has a job to do i guess it's just like in the movies right has to be a head shot gunny was again caught off guard he had seen it up close and personal had fought and killed those things and this gal just from hearing a radio transmission was having an easier time accepting it than he did yeah he said after a moment that rapper guy shot one at least 12 times and it kept coming i put a bullet in its head and it dropped instantly so the one we put in the freezer has anyone checked on him she asked and it's back alive but frozen solid i need to take care of him just haven't yet gunny said this chick must have ice water running through her veins he was thinking sarah's an emt in reno scratch chimed in seeing the questioning look on gunny's face she's probably used to blood and guts and stuff the girl half smiled yeah but we didn't usually have people reanimating after they died chapter 8 gunny grabbed a couple of blue tarps and a roll of duct tape off the shelf of the main c-store he could hear voices raised in the diner the sounds of arguments cobb must have told him what was happening he headed back to the weight room that was really just a hodgepodge of home-built lifting contrivances cobb wasn't about to pay for professional gym equipment and the truckers that worked out didn't need fancy spa machines just steel bars and blocks of concrete to lift old engine blocks hooked on pulleys to lift heavy cranks cleaned up and used as dumbbells to lift really just anything heavy to work with the small group of truckers was still gathered around the thrashing form of the biker strapped firmly to the exam table he was still face down but his head was turned and he was gnashing at the men who were staying well out of his reach his eyes were solid black the pupils fully dilated his whole body was spasming and straining trying to sink teeth into anyone or anything the vinyl of the table was ripped and some of the stuffing was falling out they looked at gunny standing there with the tarp and tape and knew what had to be done he looked at them pack rat grizz squeak shaky and a few others uh any takers he asked holding out the knife to them easier to just shoot it pack rat said i guess i see your point do it quiet like i never killed a man with a knife grizz said we used bullets in the sandbox if it came down to a knife fight you already screwed up he paused then added but if you can't i will gunny saw that no one wanted to do what had to be done so he set the tarps down and walked over to the keening thrashing form before he could think about it too long and lose his nerve he grabbed a handful of hair to hold it still and swung the knife down to drive it into the back of its head the blade slid off the hard bone and down on the side of the creature's face leaving a deep furrow and ripping its ear off as a large piece of scalp flapped over revealing the yellowish bone of the skull oh that's sick somebody said it's the snarling flailing thing snapped at gunny's wrist he hurriedly slammed the knife down a second time and again it careened off the skull not driving in like it was supposed to but grooving down the other side of its head gunny was trying to hold the head still with his hand gripping a shank of hair but the way it was jerking around it was scalping itself the hair ripped free of the skull and gunny let go jumping back with a look of disgust the flap of hair was over its face and it was biting and chewing on it pulling more off more of its bloody yellow skull being exposed one of the drivers ran out the door they could hear him retching in the hallway gunny stood back watching in horror as the thing ate itself ripping its own face off in a frenzy with its incessantly biting teeth this he said pulled out his glock and fired once sending brain splatter all over the back wall there was silence as they all stared grossed out but unable to look away you should have rammed it up into the skull at the base of the spine it's softer there than pack rat trailed off as gunny turned and glared at him a hard look on his face nostrils flared and a twitch under his right eye the smoking gun was still in his hand and grizz and shaky stepped away from the know-it-all but a shot with the pistol no that was good yes sir sure was here let me help you with those tarps he said hurriedly reaching for them before gunny decided to shoot him too gunny grizz and toned you are one hot son of a then he grabbed the other tarp to help the old man wrap the corpse three more he thought heading back to the doc's office three more and i'm done i'm gonna get a long hot shower get in my truck and get the hell out of here he went through the door quickly still reeling from the botched mercy euthanasia he had tried man that was disgusting the old man was right though he thought base of the skull right at the spine no bone there how had he forgotten that he wanted to tie ozzy and billy up tight just hobbled he realized now they were still dangerous and there would be no way to take them out with a knife without getting chewed up in the process maybe gags he thought the biker girl was just standing up from the couch using a paper towel to wipe off a long metal letter opener in her hand billy looked at peace now why did you shoot she asked staring straight at gunny i thought you were going to do it quietly i tried he said the knife kept bouncing off she gave him a look that made him feel like an idiot come here she said watch she walked over to ozzy whose breathing was shallow and quick she turned his head to one side and placed the letter opener right at the base of his neck where the cervical vertebra was held to the skull with only a thin layer of muscle and skin you're not gonna wait until he's dead scratch ass he's already dead she said he was dead the second the bacteria from the bite was carried to his brain there's nothing i can do there's probably nothing anyone can do they would already be doing it not dying by the millions to these things do you want to wait until he starts thrashing around she asked maybe bites you while you try to hold him still she held the letter opener out to him scratch looked at her then at aussie struggling for each shallow hitching breath that he took and shook his head stacey took it from her outstretched hand you did billy i got this she moved fast just a quick thrust and wiggle and she was pulling it back out wiping it off on the paper towel then composing ozzy's hand on his chest she looked over at hot rod he held up his hands to start to protest i think you're good she said you aren't showing any signs sarah you concur she did but they all agreed that hot rod needed to remain visible stay in the dining room and everyone was going to be keeping an eye on him he wasn't out of the woods yet maybe scratches were slow acting whereas bites were a much faster way to death hot rod agreed quickly eyeing the cold-blooded women one in a doctor's lab coat and one in leather thinking he had just dodged a bullet scratch went after more tarps and tape and gunny went to talk to tommy after a quick discussion they decided to bury the wrapped bodies at the back of the junkyard the soil would be soft and no one really wanted them stacked up in the freezer grizz grabbed a tire cart and easily stacked all three corpses on it and took off towards the back with a handful of drivers carrying shovels pack rat followed along telling them all the best way to dig a grave and we'll have one more in a minute gunny called after them i'll be back grizz said in his best terminator voice gunny chuffed and shook his head even in the middle of a zombie apocalypse these guys still hadn't lost their sense of humor probably because as bad as this was most of them had seen worse war is an ugly and brutal business and something about it pulls the survivors together in an unexplainable way there are no bonds of brotherhood that are stronger than those of men who have fought together killed together and watched friends die together all were glad when it was over and hated it when it was happening but there was a small part of them that craved the intensity of battle after you had experienced it every other sensation in life paled when compared to it they were almost like junkies dreading the war but thriving on the adrenaline rush hello darkness my old friend as gunny was headed towards the c-store to get yet another tarp hopefully the last one he would have to use the biker girl and stacy came out of a little clinic and fell in beside him i'm sarah the leather-clad girl said the fellow with the prosthetic you call him scratch he told you i'm an emt right yeah gunny said not sure where this was going before you euthanize the guy in the freezer we want to run a few tests stacy picked up the conversation at gunny's puzzled look if he's frozen he won't be able to move around much we need to find out a few things like check for heartbeat and blood pressure see if his pupils react to light she held up a little medical flashlight and indicated her stethoscope when billy died when he stopped breathing i had my scope to his chest when he opened his eyes i didn't detect a heartbeat but sarah had the letter opener up into his brain almost instantly so i really couldn't tell gunny didn't see what it mattered but he didn't understand doctor things above his pay grade but they were right if the guy was frozen they could check those things in relative safety sure he said grabbing a roll of tape along with one of the last blue tarps i'll drag him out into the kitchen and you can test away as they enter the kitchen through the back corridor the argument in the dining room sounded even worse than before a bunch of people were all shouting over each other trying to be heard gunny ignored them and laid out the tarp open the freezer door and dragged the frozen man out he set him on the plastic and then stepped back letting the girls do whatever it was they wanted to do they talked quietly sarah jotting notes as stacy quickly ran through a battery of tests she wanted to get done gunny waited while they poked and prodded and tested things and looked out over the order counter into the dining room the driver's area was nearly empty only a few guys still in there watching the argument in the main diner area the black kid that had helped carry in the man the girls were running their tests on was sitting by himself staring out of the window through a gap between the tractor and trailer he was ignoring everyone and gunny could see tear tracks on his face he said he had known these guys they must have been close a corpulent man in a salmon-colored polo shirt was waving his finger at cobb who was doing his best to be diplomatic and treat his guests with respect gunny figured that wouldn't last much longer when he heard martha's voice jump into the mix this was surprising because he didn't think that she was the type to get fired up and start yelling at customers cobb sure cookie all the time but she was always polite to their guests he was paying attention now trying to follow her angry broken english as she waved a spoon in the fat man's face you're scared cause you hear gunshot you mad she yelled at him you think truck driver crazy with gun what do you think happened here we no have gun you think zombie peoples not eat you they're not zombies the man roared they're just sick people how many times do i have to tell you there's no such thing as zombies he had a woman half his age by his side she was drop dead gorgeous and she just nodded her head at everything he said agreeing sycophantically martha was right back in his face wagging the spoon you think you know better than soldier all these men who save your life they soldier they almost died to save all you and you won't call cop to take them to jail for hitting your car it wasn't just a car it was a ferrari he yelled right back cobb reached up to take martha's arm to calm her down but she whirled onto him you know say me calm down she yelled her broken english getting worse in her anger cobb backed off the petite little asian grandmother was fired up and she wasn't about to take any more of this man talking bad about her boys her soldiers her truck drivers the men whose fast thinking and quick actions had saved all their lives and she didn't understand why this fat fool couldn't see that how most of them in the dining room couldn't see that she went right back to telling him how lucky he was that he was there and not somewhere else where he would have already been dead half in english and half in her native tongue when she couldn't find the right word damn gunny said to stacy as she stood finished with what she came to do i've never seen martha so pissed even cobb looks a little scared of her he should be she replied you never heard the story about when she almost killed him gunny looked at her no really how did that happen stacy pulled an antiseptic wipe out of her pocket and started cleaning her stethoscope another tool she had well she said the way i heard it was that it wasn't long after they first got married cobb came home drinking with lovin on his mind they got into an argument and he hit her gave her pretty good shiner kim said after he passed out she sewed him up in the bed sheets good and tight couple of layers so he wouldn't be able to break out you can imagine how mad he must have been when he woke up the next morning she just whacked him with a frying pan told him to shut up every time he started to raise his voice she'd hit him again she beat the tar out of him ever notice cobb's crooked nose that didn't happen in some bar fight she broke it with a frying pan she wasn't playing kim said she smacked on him for days with that pan when he finally learned not to shout he started telling her what he was going to do to her when he got out how he was going to teach her a lesson she would never forget he struggled for a long time before he finally gave up and realized there was no way he could get free she left him there he pissed himself he crapped himself after a few days he was begging she didn't feed him or give him water she told him he was going to stay there until her face was completely healed if he died before it was then the gods had willed it cobb knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer without water he begged and promised anything to get out she had broken him something the toughest marines are the wars he was in couldn't do you know cobb doesn't drink right she asked he hasn't touched booze since then she finally cut him loose when he was too weak to stand more dead than alive she bathed him gave him soup told him she loved him more than any woman could love a man and would until she was old and gray but if he ever hit her again or hit one of their children in anger she would sew him in the sheets and take the children and go back home to her people she believed her good for her sarah said gunny didn't know what to say to that wondered how much was true and how much was family legend best not to say anything when women were telling women stories he watched martha over the counter unafraid of the big man not letting him say anything disparaging about her drivers her soldiers her friends but the other customers in the blonde and the skin-tight skirt at his side were siding with the man shouting their own opinions in when they got the chance and he knew this wasn't going to end well cobb was going to blow a gasket and punch the guy any minute cadillac jack stood by cobb with an angry scowl on his face but he was 70 if he was a day there were only a few drivers in there mostly guys that had come in for a quick break the rest were out doing what needed to be done digging holes in the ground and burying dead bodies reinforcing the windows and walls standing guard on the roof or patching the fence establishing communications with other pockets of people and trying to figure out what was going on trying to save the wounded and running tests on dead bodies to try to determine some way to help and these spoiled lazy bastards sitting in the air-conditioned diner this whole time sipping coffee were given martha and cobb hell for doing what had to be done to save their sorry asses he kept hearing the same mantra over and over from the people out there you're delusional there's no such thing as zombies this isn't a hollywood movie set and that truck driver right there killed two people he smashed up a bunch of cars and as soon as the phones were working he'd be arrested for murder gunny was getting pissed they were all experiencing cognitive dissonance they were refusing to believe what was plainly self-evident but it was too much for them to grasp it would shatter their little world of make-believe they had created for themselves over the past few hours they weren't helping do anything because then they would have to face the truth they would just sit in here reassuring everyone and themselves it would all be just fine things would sort themselves out the police or the government would get things under control shortly and things can get back to normal help would be here soon he heard a moan from the blinded painter who had half of his face missing he was thawing out gunny didn't think in his anger just grabbed the edges of the tarp wrapped it around the thawing corpse and started dragging it through the kitchen and into the dining room when they saw him coming through the doors a few of them pointed at him there he is he heard the man in the pink polo shirt wasn't shy and he yelled right at him you killed two people we saw you and none of your trashy trucker friends can cover that up where's that police officer that was here what did you people do to him and you destroyed my car it cost more than you could ever earn i hope you have insurance i'm gonna sue you for every dime you have and every dime you'll ever make the blonde had her hand on his shoulder and bobbed her head up and down like an idiot bobble head doll there were other comments and shouts at him but he ignored them all just drug his struggling load wrapped in the tarp into the middle of the room near the man where they could all see then drop the ends he was holding the room got quiet as the blinded thing inside pushed away the ends of the plastic and struggled to sit up still half-frozen he's been in a sub-zero freezer for the last couple hours gunny said quietly that should have killed him there were gas from the scraping of chairs as everyone moved back a few steps when they realized what it was mr ferrari grabbed his girlfriend and pushed her in front of him as he backpedaled away he was bitten in the neck his jugular vein ripped wide open that should have killed him they all looked on in horror as it tried to stand gunny kicked him back down then pulled out his gun and shot it in the chest the people screamed and there were shouts of protest that was a nine millimeter hollow point bullet aimed right into his heart from two feet away that should have killed him the thing had bounced off the floor and continued to try to sit up gunny shot it 13 more times in rapid succession pulling the trigger as fast as he could riddling its body shattering bone blowing big holes in its chest and bigger ones out of its back the roar of the gun and the screams of the people were deafening in the confined space as the bullets went through it the linoleum and into the hardwood floor the last shots echo faded away the cordite smell filled the room and with gunsmoke still curling from the barrel the blinded thing struggled to sit up again it couldn't its spine was shattered it pulled itself over and started crawling towards the blonde woman who was still screaming its forward progress was slow still half frozen but relentless gunny paced it just watching as the horror clawed towards the human sounds it heard its ruined face half missing its eye sockets hollow and the remains of its squished orbs dangling on grisly stalks do you still think he's just sick he asked the crowd who was backing away their eyes glued to the crawling wreck of a human being do you still think he's alive he asked looking at them trying to catch their eyes anyone want to check for a pulse he looked around at the crowd at the looks of fear on their faces as they kept pushing away from it anyone he said barely above a whisper there were no takers the drug itself along the floor trailing blood and slime from its blown open chest chunks of broken ribs and spine jutting out of its back if he bites you within a few hours you will become just like him gunny said walking softly beside it he didn't have to raise his voice the room was deathly silent except for a quietly crying blonde woman with her hands over her mouth desperately trying to silence herself he can hear you gunny whispered and the gurgling sound coming from the crawling man's throat the rasp of fingers and skin on the floor as it pulled itself along seemed uncannily amplified it can't be bargained with he murmured it can't be reasoned with it doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop ever until you're dead the crowd had moved away from the woman who couldn't manage to stop her hitching crying sobs she was against the wall and couldn't retreat any further she was alone her boyfriend wasn't helping her the people she had befriended these past few hours weren't helping her the thing on the floor pulled himself towards her its useless legs trailing behind in a smear of blood and intestinal juices its teeth starting to gnash in anticipation of food the world has fallen people he said i don't know how or why or who did it but the world we woke up to is gone the sooner you realize that the longer you'll survive please the woman sobbed tearing her eyes away from the crawling thing only a few feet away from her looking at gunny her mascara was streaked and running down her cheeks her tears flowing freely please don't she whimpered still unable to move away or stop her crying stop it someone in the crowd cried just stop it gunny grabbed the scrabbling thing by the hair drug it back to the tarp and place the gun against its forehead he used the last bullet to stop its struggles then wrapped it back up in the tarp he drug it out towards the shop to be buried with the rest feeling like an for scaring the woman so badly he wasn't gonna let it bite anyone he just wanted them to understand what they were dealing with but it probably went too far especially that terminator quote 9 prone to theatrics much kim ass when gunny tiny and most of the rest of the drivers and mechanics came back into the diner an hour or so later finished with their tasks of burying the dead repairing the fence and securing the building as best as they could it got the point across he said a little defensively tech you're right about that she replied nobody wants you arrested anymore except maybe the ferrari guy he's probably still upset but his girlfriend hates him now called him a coward for pushing her in front of him kind of funny actually you want some lunch cookie made up a bunch of stuff just grab a plate and head to the buffet there seemed to be more people than were there this morning and gunny mentioned this as they got in line behind scratch waiting to load their plates there are tony said after everything quieted down when you guys were all out back digging the graves a bunch of guys that had stayed in their trucks made a run for the front doors there's enough room to squeeze past pack rat's trailer and get inside but cobs blocked that now there are too many of those dead things out there gunny hadn't been up on the roof again and the view from the windows was blocked by the trucks really he said they're coming in off the road yeah tiny replied they're trickling in by ones and twos sometimes a half dozen but they just keep coming there's probably 60 or 70 out there now just milling around i was up on the roof for about an hour until peanut butter relieved me i guess the noise or maybe the smell of people is attracting them crap gunny said i was planning on leaving after i ate and said my goodbyes might want to wait till wirebender has his say scratch said he's gathered all the information he has so far and him and cobb are planning on giving a little brief to everyone kind of let everybody know everything they've been able to figure out i guess gunny nodded and added an extra slice of meatloaf to his plate cookie had been a mess sergeant in the army and his food was never very fancy but it was always good and filling he found a booth by the window and the three of them sat in the same configuration they had just a few hours ago watching the firm backside of the leather-clad girl on the motorcycle ignorant to the death and destruction that was only a few minutes in their future deja vu scratch said voicing what all of them felt the tv was off now none of the cable channels worked and the local stations only had test patterns some of the radio stations were still playing music but they hadn't heard a live voice over the air in hours cobb clomped in a few minutes later with wirebender and the preacher following close behind both of them carrying papers in their arms a preacher made it in cool scratch said i was wondering if he was out in the chapel yeah gunny said he was out back with us while cobb had you on cleanup detail he said some words over the ones we buried right scratch grouse denim thanks for that next time do you have to let it leave a blood trail a mile long at ease cobb barked and the truckers quieted down instantly the others in the dining room soon realized the strange command meant shut up and stopped talking to pay attention he was standing near the entry doors and wirebender was helping preacher unfurl a map of the world and pin it to the bulletin board covering up the trucks for sale and drivers needed posts that were on it since gunny's little display of marksmanship and the proper way to ruin a perfectly good floor cobb started in without preamble his drill sergeant voice carrying easily to the back reaches of the diner everyone knows we're up against right now there are about 70 of those things outside wanting inside there were gas from some of the people and a murmur started up cobb didn't get louder or acknowledged the interruption just carried on in his command voice and the people talking quickly hushed wirebender has been in communication with people all over these united states and between that and monitoring the internet he's put together a pretty good picture of what we're dealing with these two girls have some medical experience and have a little something they want to say about what they've been able to figure out he pointed his chin at sarah and stacy to indicate them the padre here is going to say a little prayer then wirebender will brief you on what we know he moved aside and preachers stepped up and asked for the people to bow their heads if there were any atheists in the room they didn't voice any complaints preacher was succinct in his prayer mentioned the bible passages that talked about the dead rising ask for guidance and when he finished there was a hearty amen wirebender stepped up then looking a little nervous at all the eyes on him he started out hesitantly with many ums and errs but once he got going the facts and figures and numbers came fast and hard he referenced the map pointing out all the cities he knew for certain were in utter chaos he had highlighted them and read they were all red paris berlin moscow tokyo london seoul beijing new delhi new york mexico city washington dc los angeles atlanta all of them this contagion had spread so fast no one could figure out the trigger that it caused it from gleaning through all the news reports he had determined that it started two days ago in limited areas but today it had exploded worldwide everywhere at once there was something instigating it some release mechanism no one had figured out yet and it was following the path of the sun the cdc scientists in atlanta and the military had been frantically working all night trying to determine the cause but when the sun came up in america our cities had gone the way of the rest of the world as near as anyone could determine it it had started in japan spread to china and russia devastated europe in a matter of hours and started in north america around 6 a.m eastern standard time reports from south america were spotty but from everything he had heard they weren't spared either as far as he knew hawaii australia and the islands in the pacific hadn't been affected maybe some of the caribbean islands but he didn't know for sure there was stunned silence when he wound up his report nearly every city on the world map was read overrun dead except for one glaring exception what about the middle east gunny asked tehran cairo damascus riyadh i don't see any red marks in any of those countries anything from israel wirebender looked back at the map like he was seeing it for the first time seeing it clearly he tilted his head hand to chin looking like he was deep in thought i never noticed he started then took off out of the diner heading back to his shop he probably didn't have any communications with them he doesn't speak muslim does he someone asked most of the former soldiers snorted or laughed muslim wasn't a language and every nation over in the middle east had their own tongue but they were right in their assumption wirebender probably didn't speak any of the languages in those countries stacy stepped up and gave a brief rundown of what happened to the deputy brian and ozzy how fast it attacked their respiratory systems how the fever spiked when they died and came back all from one bite all within a matter of hours but based on what the drivers told her if you die from blood loss or any other reason after being bitten you came back almost instantly like a shot of heroin in the veins the saliva was in your system as soon as it broke skin and got into your bloodstream she told hot rod to stand up and explained about his scratches and how he was showing no symptoms then briefly told about the few tests she could run on the painter that had been in the freezer no pulse no heartbeat no change in pupils with white light stimulation no blood pressure the only way to kill them is to destroy the brain it was alive somehow and controlling the rest of the body kill the brain kill the body she stressed how important it was that if anyone was bitten that they be isolated even the smallest bite cobb came back up to squint at the map for a moment then started in again with his drill instructor's voice people we made this place as secure as we can and everyone here is welcome to stay as long as you want by the same token you're welcome to leave if you want to try to get back home if any of you drivers have loads of food and you're planning on staying here then plan on unloading the truck tommy is working on a way to safely get them in the bays i'm planning on heading out sqweek said but we can unload a bunch of cookies and crackers if you want a few other drivers voiced the same offering some of their freight from fruits and vegetables to refrigerated beef and ham fine fine cobart get with cookie let him know what you can spare now as you were and let me finish he continued if your car got smashed up in the parking lot melee we'll figure something out he eyed the man who had been so vocal about his dented up ferrari he wisely said nothing if it's too damaged to drive just come back inside when we open the doors if you're leaving the sooner the better those things are steadily piling up out there they seem to be pretty calm unless you see a person then all hell breaks loose how are we gonna get to the parking lot then if they're already outside a woman with a couple of children at her side asked we'll create a diversion cobb replied speaking of which gunny i need you and grizz for a pow-wow with me and tommy after this you two got the most sandbox experience we need to figure out the best way to get these folks to their cars in one piece that they're leaving gunny nodded and grizz gave a roger that i don't suppose anybody's hauling ammo he asked without much hope no one was cobb went on a few more minutes about some other things and gunny scanned the room from the back where he was standing he knew the drivers would be paying attention and that cobb had their respect he wondered how the tourists the civilians as he thought of them were taking his words now that they realized he had acted in their best interest when he was barking orders and guns started blasting a few hours ago all of them were attentive there were a few sour looks about some of the things cobb had said but as they listened and heard the interactions between this grizzled old codger and those younger and stronger than him they were starting to realize he was much more than just a grumpy scarred up old man gunny tried to get into their heads to get a feel for what they were thinking tried to read them through their facial expressions and body language tried to see if there were any potential problems he was falling back into old military habits without even realizing it carl and his girlfriend tina had stopped in to check this truck stop out after reading about it on one of the travel blogs they subscribed to they liked it very quaint and unique now he couldn't decide if they were lucky they happen to be here when the zombie apocalypse happened or if they would have been better off to have skipped it and had breakfast at home if they hadn't stopped they would still be in their car and then been able to drive back to their apartment their prius was one of the cars that truck driver the one everybody called gunny had smashed into it bounced off the front bumper of that big rig and he didn't know how much damage it had sustained it all happened so fast he couldn't tell it looked okay from what he could see out of the window just a plastic bumper cover was hanging a skew at first he and tina had thought these uncouth drivers were a bunch of redneck jerks they had heard them make fun of that poor boy with the missing arm but as they watched them they heard them joking with him and treating him the same as anyone else cobb hadn't even batted an eye when he told him to grab a mop and clean up the mess in the dining room left by that crawling monstrosity he had no consideration for his handicap the young man did it no excuses no complaints there was respect and deference when they talked to the old man when they called him top it seemed to be a military rank or something he must have been somebody important at one time that guy was kind of a nut job with all those loaded guns just lying around where the kids could have gotten to them but he had been fast to realize what they were up against he supposed he really had saved everyone's lives him and that one they called gunny now he was a scary one cold-blooded killer he was the first to react the first one to run out in the parking lot and shoot that little kid in the face and he had let that thing just crawl within a few feet of the poor frightened woman then he blew its head half off and drug it off like they were going for a sunday stroll wouldn't want to get on his bad side the old man had said something about him and that huge guy called grizz having a bunch of time in the sandbox he knew that meant afghanistan or iraq or anywhere over there he supposed he wasn't even sure which countries they were fighting in anymore it had been going on for nearly his whole life and no one on campus cared about such things he looked around the room at the men in the diner and then at the man over in the professional drivers only section wow what a difference he felt a little awkward about his and tina's matching salvation army outfits now he had quietly untied the hand-dyed scarf that he'd been wearing as an ascot they had thought it so jaunty but now he thought it was ridiculous the guys on this side all looked a little soft he had to admit slacks and polo shirts loafers and dockers those guys over there looked like hard cases blue jeans and flannel canvas shirts and t-shirts with second amendment phrases on them it looked like the world was reverting to survival of the fittest and those guys had a pretty good head start on everyone else no wonder most of them were packing pistols he would have to get one learn how to shoot it he was pretty good at call of duty shouldn't be too hard well at least he wasn't wearing pink like that fat guy who kept screaming about his stupid ferrari or lil wayne over there with all his ghetto gangsta clothes and tattoos and that big chrome grill in his mouth that guy hadn't said a word since he came in and sat down in the booth just kept staring out the window at the gap between the truck and its trailer he had even been crying he had helped bring in that poor guy that died and turned into a zombie the gunny had shot to pieces i wonder if he knew him they had pulled up together even he had a gun and probably a criminal record as long as her arm but that was racist profiling shouldn't think like that he and tina went to berkeley and they prided themselves on not being judgmental he was better than that and felt a little ashamed for even thinking such a thing she was in electrical engineering and he was studying philosophy still undecided on a real major as his dad kept cajoling him to declare it was almost laughable last week hell yesterday he would have told anyone there was no reason to own a firearm but today he was thinking he needed to get a gun learn how to use it he was looking at the differences in the people their clothes their hair and their attitudes what separated them from us it had to be more than the fact that they all looked uneducated maybe barely graduating high school the people on his side of the diner looked more refined definitely better clothes that didn't come from walmart expensive watches good haircuts maybe it was because most of them seemed to have military experience poor people joined the army maybe that was it he noticed the one called gunny staring at him and rapidly turned back to pay attention to what cobb was saying feeling like he was back in school and had just been caught doing something wrong chapter 10 after they had wolfed down their chow gunny and grizz headed to the shop with tommy and cobb the rest of the drivers were making their plans to either leave or stay still trying to call and text and find out any information they could from the internet it was the only news source that still worked though more and more websites especially those housed overseas or on the east coast were failing to load many of the tourists pitched in to help with the kitchen and dining room cleanup waiting until they could safely get back to their cars they had appreciated cobb's offer of a safe place to stay but most didn't even consider it they needed to get home they had loved ones waiting for them once the families were back together then they could make plans then maybe come back here if things were really that bad out there as they walked into the shop tommy grabbed a paper floor mat they put in all the customers trucks when they worked on them to keep the mechanics dirty boots off of the carpets he laid it on the counter and flipped it over to the blank side then quickly sketched out the layout of the three flags all of the people in the diner are parked here he said indicating the automobile parking area in front of the store so how do we get 70 zombies away from there long enough for them to slip out and get to their cars how much ammo do we have chris asked i'm not thinking handguns not accurate enough we may have some for the m1 and there's some 223 not enough for what you're thinking cobb said i got about a hundred rounds total i'm thinking we need a diversion something to draw them away gunny said looking at the quickly drawn map someone on the roof can see if it's clear and radio down when it is we open up the front doors they slide out under the trailers and run for the cars a what diversion though tommy asked cobb drew in his lucky strike and added a few more lines to the makeshift map we take the tow truck out of the back gate he indicated the seldom used junkyard gate behind the shop we could bring it around to the front hit the lights and air horns and then drive off they should chase it yeah right gunny said once they're all away from the store floor it get turned around and then come back and run over them that big ass push bumper should do some serious zombie bowling damage grizz smiled i like the way you think he said chapter 11. what do you mean i'm riding shotgun gunny ass when cobb tried to hand him the ar-15 i plan on heading out too we didn't finish the service on your truck tommy said all we did was get the oil changed it'll be a while i'll get the boys on it right now by the time you and tiny get back it should be done gunny grimaced and took the ar it was a perfect replica of the m16 used during the nam conflict aside from the full auto selector of course fine he grumbled the shiny black peterbilt heavy wrecker rumbled quietly at the back of the shop it was an old 359 model from the 80s but well maintained and gleamed in the early afternoon sun tommy kept it waxed and all the chrome polished to mirror finishes grizz and hot rod were standing with a back gate ready to pull it open as soon as they got the signal from scratch he was on the roof with the m1 with a clear line of sight along the road and fence you're good scratch said into the handheld cb the nearest one is at least a quarter mile away tiny heard him over the radio in the peat and released the air brakes grabbed fifth gear and nailed the throttle the big cat under the hood roared and like the torque monster it was never even hiccuped at taking off in the higher gear by the time they were around the little bend in the junkyard and headed for the gate the two men had it open and were standing by to hurriedly shut it behind them as soon as they cleared it cobb was there with the m4 waving them on tiny turned towards the front of the truck stop and as they had planned flipped on the flashers and the emergency lights then got on the air horn he circled into the parking lot and just as they expected they had the full attention of every single walking cadaver gunny had seen their speed and ferocity but even he was taken aback at the brutal single-mindedness as they came screaming across the lot straight at them this was the first time tiny got to see them up close and he started cursing a blue streak when the first of them slammed into the push bumper and bounded up and over the heavy iron grille guard he spun the wheel and hit the throttle hard and the flailing man went flying off the hood as the main body of them plowed into the truck screeching and leaping at the faces they saw in the windows they didn't seem to be coordinated enough or have enough foresight to actually hold onto a grab bar or chicken light cluster they just kept reaching and running at them tiny hadn't seen combat on the warship he was on during his stint in the navy but he trained just as hard as anyone else and that training kicked in overriding the natural instinct to panic but he'd never seen anything like this those things had absolutely no sense of self-preservation they were running headlong into 20 tons of accelerating steel and it was pulverizing them under its wheels as they bounced over and through the crowd of zombies as they crushed their way through and got out in front of them leading them away from the storefront they heard scratch over the radio giving the people that wanted to leave the all clear signal tiny slowed down a little glancing down at the speedometer i'm going 20 miles an hour and they're gaining he said and gave it a little more gas well the ones you didn't bust up are gunny said see how long they can keep it up tiny held the truck at a little over 20 staying just ahead of the lead runner they were both watching the mirrors enthralled as the zombies didn't slow or seem to tire out the path behind them was strong with the running dead in various states of damage chapter 12 long dog was standing by with the rest of the people that wanted to leave to get back to family and loved ones he wanted his coke he'd been in a daze these last few hours he lost both his cousins and best friends here and he wanted to get away he'd heard what those truckers said about how bad it was out there but he didn't really believe it those cowboys and their big bus said they were gonna wait the fat guy with no ferrari was gonna have to wait a bunch of the truckers said they were just gonna stay here and see what happens all of the mechanics that worked here were gonna get their families and bring them back but most of the people that were lined up and ready to run out the doors were headed back down towards reno back to their homes this wasn't that bad couldn't be people were overreacting he needed to get the van and get it away before some government officials started poking around they would be here soon when they came to do their investigations of the north reno truck stop mayhem or whatever the news reporters are going to call it they all waited tense and ready to go and once they heard the all clear over the radio they pushed open the doors and everyone scrambled to be the first out he was through like a shot and crawling on his hands and knees under the trailer as fast as he could the trick with the lights and horn had worked they had let all of those screaming dead things away he ran past his 300 still sitting at the pumps straight for the van and jumped in went to turn the keys no keys no no no and mario put them in his pocket fool this wasn't a hood nobody was gonna jack your car here in the middle of nowhere and if he had they'd been buried with him maybe jimmy had them he jumped out of the van and nearly got run down as all the cars were screeching out of the parking lot fishtailing and squealing tires he dodged the remaining ones and joined the sprint to the big truck parking area falling in behind the few truckers who opted to leave he saw jimmy's body and ran up to it nearly chipping over him as he slid in the gravel dropping to his knees and frantically patting the pants pockets don't look at him don't look at him he kept telling himself trying to feel the keys bingo was his name-o he thought insanely digging his hands in deep and pulling them out he looked up as one of the semis dodged around him spitting gravel and dust plumes from its tires there was an old school bus sitting there that had been tucked in between the trucks it was painted black and had writing on the side probably some crappy band on tour he thought what tripped him out was that some ratty-haired guy was sitting in the driver's seat eating a bowl of cereal and watching him rifle through a dead man's pockets he didn't have time for this he started to run back towards the fuel pumps his head on a swivel looking for more of the zombs and the big rigs who weren't obeying the five miles per hour in parking lot sign he saw the couple that owned the prius pulling on the plastic front bumper and tossing it aside then climbing in the fat guy's ferrari was a total loss he could see that from here the whole front end was caved in and one of the wheels was sitting askew he jumped back into the van and started trying keys until he found the right one the big wrecker had turned around and came flying by with a few of the zombies chasing after it before he could get the van out of the parking lot he let them go better to be behind that crowd than in front of it he reasoned tiny and gunny were looking out of the mirrors and saw a line of cars screeching out of the parking lot all of them heading back towards reno a couple nearly colliding as no one yielded and everyone floored it towards the exits idiots gunny said somebody's gonna have a wreck driving like that yep tiny agreed i guess we ought to follow them a little ways make sure they at least get down to reno i'd like to see the road conditions anyway that's the way i'm going as soon as i get some oil back in my truck roger that tiny said i'll wait till you're ready to go and roll with you i need to get back to birmingham then he sped up towards a crossover so he could get turned around that sounds good gunny said safety in numbers have to see if anyone else is rolling that way get us a little convoy going tiny spun around and headed back towards town pointing the nose of the truck at all the runners and stragglers still in pursuit it wasn't hard they all aimed themselves right at him they passed a few of the big rigs headed to california by the back roads and tooted their horns probably a smart move gunny thought less traffic less people less trouble by the time they went past the truck stop again they had killed or seriously maimed most of the horde that had been chasing them gunny got on the radio told them they were going to do a quick recon run down towards reno see how bad the freeway was the road was wide open zero traffic up ahead they could see some cars crashed on the highway and a smattering of gimps struggling along the road all heading in the same direction they were tiny grabbed another gear and started bouncing them off the front bumper sending them flying off into the desert and mangled heaps the big truck barely felt the shutter of impact while he dodged around the scattered cars that had been abandoned it's amazing how it happened so fast tiny said still trying to take it all in i guess it only took one to run out in traffic and everybody stops or wrecks trying to avoid them yeah gunny agreed probably the same thing out in the subdivisions too spreads like wildfire they continued on for another few miles before the crowds on the road began to get thick they weren't exactly starting to bog down but the undead were attacking them now turning and charging towards the sound of the big diesel i don't see how those cars made it through here tiny said they must have got off somewhere or all these things started chasing after them when they drove by gunny replied bouncing in the seat as tiny plowed over a pile that had fallen under his wheels there's no way this many were on the road before tiny's door shuttered as a particularly fast one crashed into it at full speed vaulting over the already fallen bodies he flinched away instinctively and dropped a gear as he slowed the truck still hurtling through the masses of undead gunny fired up the cb and gave them a quick report crowds are getting heavy down here wirebender they're climbing all over the truck and no sign of any of the cars that left man this ain't good tiny said fighting the wheel as he started to avoid the bigger clusters we run into a thick enough pile of them we can get stuck yeah gunny said can you get turned around those poor bastards are on their own they must have drawn this crowd as they drove by or maybe they turned off sure as hell didn't drive through this i'm looking man i'm looking tiny said i don't want to slow down too much so dog pilots this thing will push down a building but only if it has traction i get in a pile of blood and guts and we'll be spinning in place did you make it back down to the interstate wire bender came back as tiny manhandled the steering wheel aiming for openings in the teeming masses and around the more frequent abandoned cars he was scanning for a wide area to get turned gunny reached over and flipped in the inner axle lock giving power to both rear axles there was an emergency vehicle turnaround spot coming up it was a place where the local smokies would usually sit shooting radar and unsuspecting motorists it was full of the infected streaming over from the other side of the divided highway running towards the noise of the screaming undead gunny keyed the mic and replied no way to get down that far wire bender it's two is too many of them tiny yelled take this one up try the next off ramp take it take it gunny yelled right back forgetting to let go of the talk button in the urgency of the situation he could see an upcoming exit and it was jammed with abandoned and wrecked cars the mobs were getting thicker more and more joining the hunt as they heard the sound of the motor revving tiny tried to keep the speed up as he downshifted black diesel smoke rolling from the twin stacks the turnaround wasn't very wide a little over two car widths he swung into it hard and fast knocking screeching men and women out of the way like bowling pins the steering wheel fighting him as he bounced over cadavers and fought the big truck into a 180 degree turn he was sliding in the dirt slowing down fast and the horde of undead just kept piling on them no concern for their bodies being battered and bounced off of the rig they were screaming and leaping launching themselves relentlessly and repeatedly careening away knocking others down in their wake to be ground under the tires tiny hadn't even gotten the truck straightened back out again and he was grabbing another gear trying to get a little speed back up the nose of the truck was buried under a tidal wave of bodies who were now scrambling over the tumbling rolling mass of flesh in front of the bumper their vigor was renewed when they could actually see the frightened face of fresh meat only a few feet away a woman with bloody matted hair and a pastel jogging outfit made it over the top of the push bar and radiator grill first but others were soon following she dove straight for gunny hands reaching not understanding the concept of glass or maybe she did somewhere deep in her reptilian brain just didn't care her face slammed into the windshield and it spider webbed it didn't shatter but she wasn't the only one the pile of bodies built up against the front of the truck was making a rolling seething ramp and they were scrabbling up and over the fallen in their bloodlust for flesh tiny was doing his best and had the rig floored motor screaming and was jagging the wheel from side to side in an effort to sling them off impossibly there seemed to be thousands of them and they were burying the truck he couldn't see out of the windshield anymore from all the bodies piling up against it and was only able to keep on the road by judging where he was out of the side windows he flipped the air splitter on the shifter to high range and double clutched into sixth gear he kept slinging the steering wheel from side to side and the bodies were starting to fly off now that he was building up speed and the whipping movements were getting more effective the truck shuddered and bounced as the last of the piled up bodies in front of the push bumper were finally either drug under the rig or slung to the side and the screaming masses were starting to fall behind i think we got this tiny grinned when the last man trying to bite the glass in front of his face slid off the hood as he whipped the wheel one last time watch out was all gunny had time to shout before there was a bone jarring crash the big truck slammed into the concrete barrier that had been placed in the hammer lane along with the left lane ends merge right sign tiny's big body went flying through the windshield that had withstood so much these last few minutes but couldn't withstand 300 pounds at 40 miles an hour gunny bounced back against the seat the cb mic flying out of his hand the big truck came to a complete stop when it hit the barrier wrapping itself around the angled concrete it drove the solid mass into the rest of the barricades that protected the workers who would ordinarily be going about their business patching up the road normally they probably would have just bounced off it but tiny had the truck at a bad angle trying to sling the zombies off the hood normally he would have seen the solid wall of concrete with their bright orange stripes and all the signs warning him of the upcoming lane closure but today was anything but normal clouds of steam hissed and billowed up from the punctured radiator as the engine ground to a shuttering silence a day's tiny tried to push himself backward over the steering wheel and back into the cab this big bald dome was split open and blood was running down his face in sheets gunny had a seat belt off and grabbed the big man's belt and started pulling him back in as fast as he could but the screaming clawing mass had caught up the ones in front could do nothing more than stretch for them not tall enough to reach the top of the hood the shuttering impacts of more and more bodies slamming into the dinner table started the pileup within a few seconds the fastest of them were up and over the press of bodies and reaching for the freshly laid out main course gunny had him almost in tiny was pushing frantically with his hands when a teenage face clamped jaws down on his wrist he bellowed in pain and rage and fear and slammed the meaty fist of his other arm against the side of the young man's head but more reaching hands and biting mouths were there inertia was against them physics was against them gravity was against them but they had raw strength in numbers and they were pulling him back out of the window opening gunny couldn't hold him in and tiny couldn't fight them off he was crushing faces with his mighty free hand twisting in anger trying to pull his other arm loose gunny let go and grab the ar shooting directly into the crowd hoping he didn't hit tiny's flailing arm by mistake but pulling the trigger anyway he was splattering heads blowing holes in chests sending bullets tumbling through bones and dead flesh tiny still raged still fought but dozens of hands had him now and they were pulling him over the edge of the hood down into the feeding frenzy he went over the side bounced off the fender and landed on his feet still screaming in pain and fury gunny leaned out of the empty windshield frame and ran the magazine dry then grabbed for his nine as he cleared the holster he noticed a painter's van of the road beyond the masses he must have taken the previous exit the black kid was there his pistol in his hand and the door of the van open he looked like he wanted to help but there was no help gunny saw that now saw it on the kid's face heard it in the screams of tiny and the thousands of undead rushing towards the feast there were already four and five deep surrounding the wrecker with more on the way rocking it pushing towards the warm blood he couldn't help tiny he couldn't jump down and run he couldn't drive away couldn't keep them out of the truck with only 15 bullets he waved to the young man an acknowledgement of his willingness to help i thank you you better save yourself goodbye salute he turned back to tiny he was still in his feet but no longer fighting too many of the undead had his arms for taking great chunks of warm meat out of them the only reason that he didn't fall was the press of the bodies against him battering and pulling him this way and that gunny put a bullet into the top of his head that ducked back into the cab he had 14 more rounds 13 dead made permanently dead and then one for himself easy math he was calm now panic mode had subsided fearless he knew the future knew how it would end knew he had a minute maybe two he wished things had turned out a little different but they were what they were he grieved for tiny but knew he did the right thing new tiny would have wanted him to this wasn't the first time he had danced with lady death not the first time he had looked her square in the face and smiled fully expecting to be in her cold embrace within the next few heartbeats he slipped back into the tiny little sleeper and waited for them to make their way through the windshield as soon as they were finished with tiny they would be coming for him they were still screaming and keening in a high frenzy like a school of piranhas and he knew he couldn't hear the sounds of flesh being ripped and chewed knew it was only his imagination that heard the crack of bones being broken and warm marrow sucked out he couldn't hear those things only in his mind he thought about closing the privacy curtain maybe they would forget about him if they couldn't see him but he didn't want to be taken by surprise you would just sit there on this bunk and wait for them wait for that uncaring cold embrace of the lady he had danced with in the past there was only one easy way in to the broken windshield and he wanted 13 head shots a flimsy vinyl curtain wouldn't stop them anyway not even for a second they'd be here any minute they'd finish their grisly meal then start tearing the truck apart to get to them or would they at the truck stop they just milled around aimlessly like they had forgotten why they were there that there were people inside like they had pretty short attention spans and if they didn't see or hear a meal suddenly gunny felt fear his heart started racing again he wasn't calm and cool any longer he thought he might just cheat the old girl one more time he quietly slid off the bunk and reached under it to grab the latch he lifted the bed and hoped the storage area under it wasn't completely full of heavy chains and bulky tie downs but it was nearly empty tommy only kept the safety triangles a stash of rags and some cleaning supplies in it thank god for guys who like to spend time polishing chrome he thought as he silently slipped into the little alcove not much bigger than a coffin as he pulled the hinged bed back down on top of him he could hear them scrabbling up the hood and clumsily making their way into the cab chapter 13 long dog new now knew there wasn't going to be any investigation by any government officials of the north reno truck stop mayhem wasn't going to be any reporters wasn't going to be anything he had seen the mob of the undead and knew this van wouldn't plow through them so he had exited the highway it would be like driving into the ocean you would be surrounded stopped and covered there were thousands of them thousands upon thousands how had a whole city turned into zombies in only a matter of hours it boggled the mind chemicals spraying from the air no couldn't have been the medics at the truck stop were pretty sure it wasn't some airborne virus and that made sense because no one there had caught it except the ones that were bit he racked his brain on the way back to the truck stop trying to think of what it could be what caused it what to do next where'd it go next home was out of the question hell if this little wide spot on the road was completely infected and overrun by those things la was worse if that was possible those maps must have been accurate all those cities all those countries were lost he drove slow feeling bad about the truckers he couldn't help back there that gunny guy had probably saved his life when all this started he'd been living the gangster lifestyle for a few years now but he hadn't forgotten the creed that had been ingrained in him during his stint in the army it was deeper and stronger than the so-called street creed in the hood would rat you out just so they wouldn't have to do a few months in county all the rangers he tagged along with in south america would take a bullet for you they'd never leave a man behind he had just now but that was a hopeless situation and if he had tried anything it would have been three dead instead of two that gunny guy knew it too he saw he had waved for him to leave still didn't sit right with him though he needed to get back to the truck stop let them know what he saw let them know how bad it really is out here doubted if anyone that had left the safety of the three flags was still alive he had to get out of this hood attitude get back into a military mindset that's what had kept everyone back there alive and if he wanted anything it was to stay alive they were the best chance joining up with them he wouldn't last no time at all out here on his own besides where would he go no he'd throw in with them that truck stop was plenty safe had plenty of food and water and a lot of vets who knew a thing or two about defenses and killing they'd figure it out but he wanted to bring something to the table also he just watched two of them get eaten and they seem like they were pretty well known to everyone at the three flags pretty well liked he could just say he hadn't seen them but that would be hard to pull off he pulled out of the truck stop after they went by and that one armed guy on the roof had seen that nah he'd tell the truth be brutally honest tell him what he saw give an accurate situation report and to give an accurate sit rep he needed more information his mind made up long dog took the next exit to do a little scouting to get a feel for the extent of the spread of this infection travel a few miles off the main roads see if there were survivors or zombies he was careful he had a few hours of daylight left and a full tank of gas if he saw a group of them he would get turned around asap he just needed to bring a little something to the table if he were going to join this group as an equal and not as a civilian that would think they had to take care of it was an ugly truth but it was a truth nonetheless that civilians saw the color of your skin and more often than not judged before it soldiers didn't everybody that wore a uniform was green they judged you on your abilities although he joined uncle sam's army to do the least amount of work in the easiest job possible he'd learned a lot under the tutelage of the rangers and delta force and the cia guys he'd been assigned to translate for he was a fast learner and an extra gun in the field who knew what he was doing better than one that didn't there was a lot of down time at the base and they had taken it upon themselves to make sure he was competent in the field by the end of his tour they were all encouraging him to re-up to go to ranger school the lt said he would make sure he got a shot but long dog had other plans plans to get rich not hump a pack and get shot at plans that led him to right here right now scanning the road ahead of him for escape and evasion routes chapter 14. it had been hours the clock was ticking closer and closer to midnight the atmosphere in the diner was tense as everyone was waiting anticipating the big record to radio to tell them to open the gate they were coming in they were trying to hold on to hope but it was fading with each passing minute they had heard gunnies and tiny's frantic yells as the mic and the wrecker had been keyed and held open they heard the screaming of the zombies the roar of the motor gunny yelling to watch out a sound of impact and then nothing the kitchen radio the one kim got on sometimes to advertise to the truckers the daily specials when business was slow had been turned up loud but there was only static over the airwaves nearly everyone that was left at the truck stop sat around at the tables talking quietly waiting for the radio to speak and sipping coffee or tea the cowboys and some of the others had brought in a few beers from the cooler in the c store cobb had refused payment for anything he and martha knew the score better than anyone in here she'd lived through the collapse of everything she knew lived through utter lawlessness in her home country until cobb had come back and spirited her away she'd helped him when he was injured when half of his face had been ripped off she hadn't saved his life she couldn't claim that the doctors had done that but she'd been there for everything else she was one of the local orphan girls who had been hired by the americans to run errands change bedpans and do laundry she picked up enough english and was soon helping with in-country rehabilitation for injuries that didn't warrant a long trip back to the states she helped him learn how to walk again on his crutches speak again with a growl and accept the fact that his face was no longer handsome when saigon was falling and she was sure to be killed because she had helped the enemy cobb had gotten to her met her among the chaos and bombs and fires he had taken her back to the last military outpost and had the chaplain marry them right there she barely understood what was happening only had the clothes on her back the next thing she knew she was on an airplane bound for america with the rest of the civilian's independence being evacuated they eyed each other over their mugs of tea both reliving those dark days when a country fell into ruin and death and destruction that was bad this was worse the whole world had fallen into ruin and death and destruction he gently squeezed her hand and stood up he wasn't one to sit around and there were things to do things really were as bad as bad can be he needed to start figuring out a long-term plan not just a week or a month-long plan a year's long plan he stomped into wirebender's shop shoved between grizz and hot rod leaning on the counter and dropped an armful of usb sticks he had gathered out of the store he still got internet he growled yeah but only from the satellite feeds and it's going fast local access is down said wirebender well start unloading everything you can about survival stuff cobb said blacksmithing seed saving repair manual solar and wind power stuff no no no anything you can think of before it's all gone save it make backups wirebender's eyes went big and his mouth dropped open a little close your cobb grumbled as he clumped out of the room you look dumber than you normally do cobb made his rounds checking on security talking to the men that had been posted around different areas there wasn't much happening just the occasional infected showing up now and then they seem to know we're in here but as long as they don't see us they're pretty calm just kind of wander around and bump into things but always stay nearby scratch said when cobb joined him on the catwalk kim was up there with him watching the glow of the lights of reno that was visible over the horizon hard to believe it's only been less than a day papa she said he grunted non-committally then he told her in scratch what he had wirebender doing and if they thought of anything he needed to download make sure to radio him and let him know they aren't interested in the cattle the peanut butter's hauling scratch noted watching the undead meander around the parking lot i think they only want to eat human cobb grunted again kim lee turned back to watch the distant city lights her hand resting over scratches on the railing cobb glinted at scratch who suddenly felt nervous and self-conscious almost like old cobb had caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to he held cobb's gaze with what he hoped was an innocent look in his face till the old man looked over at the back of his granddaughter he turned his hard stare back at scratch and scratch wasn't sure it could have been a trick of the flickering light but he thought he saw the old man's lip curl a little the hint of a smile as he turned around and clumped back towards the trap door when cobb announced to the dining area what he was having wirebender do with the internet before they lost it completely he hadn't expected much of a response what could a bunch of truckers think of that wasn't already being downloaded but sarah and stacy both jumped up nearly spilling their herbal teas with a chorus of oh my god and they both ran for the door rattling things off to each other as they went surgery pediatrics dentistry alternative medicines herbal remedies until they were out of your shot cookie mentioned something about preserving foods without refrigeration and canning and some other stuff as he headed out of the back of the kitchen cobb looked at the rest of the group still sitting at their tables you sure you don't need to know how to drive a space shuttle or something he asked a bit of menace in his voice it really is the end of the world buttercup asked she was only in her twenties and cop could tell she'd been crying but seem to have it under control now i think so he said softening his growl a little well we better get some things on livestock care and animal husbandry then peanut butter nodded and they both stood to leave and we know horses but cattle and sheep are something else entirely and we need to either set the cattle free that we have in the trailer or start butchering them tomorrow buttercup said they can't last another day without water we have incoming it looks like the painter van is coming back scratch blasted over the kitchen cb from the handheld they had on the roof and some guy from the parking lot is making a run for it too get the front doors open cobb and most of the truckers were on their feet and running for the c-store they had guns drawn and were ready to lend fire support if needed grizz came charging up the aisle from the cb shop where he'd been hanging out his colt 45 at the ready they could hear the sounds of bodies thumping against metal and the screams of the undead starting to chase after the fresh meat as soon as they got the doors open they crouched to look under the trailer blocking the entrance and could see the van leading the zombies away from the storefront again he had made a quick pass in ran into a few of them and was leading the rest back out after him on a merry chase smart said grizz and they all agreed the van led them out onto the main road then did a quick u-turn and came flying back in plowing into as many as he could sending them flying in all directions there had only been about a dozen milling around and he had effectively cut their numbers in half the broken and maimed ones were still a danger but a gimping limping broken down zombie was nowhere near as dangerous as a screaming runner who could leap 20 feet and had two good arms to shred you with the one headlight that still worked picked up a running figure as he made his way towards the doors coming out of the truck parking lot but he really didn't look like any trucker they had ever seen his hair was vivid black and in a mohawk he was wearing leather pants and a biker leather jacket but the most striking thing of all was the hannibal lecter mask or maybe the wolverine style armbands he wore with the jutting blades glinting in the sodium light a few of the runners had seen the man hurtling for the safety of the truck stop and change their path to intercept him grizz leveled his 45 but it was already too late to get a clear shot the masked man was behind the targets the van slid in quick and the doors on both sides flew open even before it came to a complete stop the black kid was back and gunny was with him already taking shots at the faster ones heading towards them and the weirded up guy in the mask the first of the runners leaped at the mohawk man running towards them and he picked up his pace and crouched lower not a full-out sprint just enough so the infected sleep was a little too long and he brought up the wolverine claws and drove them in raking his belly wide open they dug in a little too deep as the zombie flew over his head its guts starting to spill out of the deep furrows in its belly the blade hooked on the pelvis bone and snapped off sending them both crashing to the ground the zombie head first into asphalt with a face breaking crunch and the leather-clad man flat on his back his feet flying out from under him his arm was stuck wrist deep in the dead man's abdomen the broken blades protruding out of his rump he was quick to rebound though wiggling his arm out and on his feet punching powerfully at the screaming woman with her arms outstretched reaching for him he caught her square in the eyes right where he had been aiming for and the blades punched out the back of her skull he shook her off using a booted foot to her mouth to help her along the blades twisting his arm at an awkward angle as he finally jerked them free he heard the reports of gunfire and jumped over a falling body as he continued to run for the doors he went into full sprint mode dropped to his knees to let the plastic pad slide him under the trailer right past the two guys from the van who were scrambling for the door he slid gracefully through the entrance and popped back up in his feet like he had been practicing this move for months actually he had not the whole sliding out of the trailer thing but sliding across the slippery stage slapping out stretched hands as he whizzed by and popping up on the other side he made a show out of slicing things up with the claws on stage when the band went into a screaming guitar thundering drum solo the singer had to do something so he didn't look like a fool just standing there when there wasn't anything to be sung he'd slice up watermelons political posters of hatred candidates pinatas filled with little bottles of whiskey to sling out into the crowd or beach balls that have been bouncing around anything that was messy and made a spectacle by the time he did the stage slide high fives to the fans in the front row he had quietly changed the razor sharp claws out for a dulled and blunted pair the bouncing brawling fans didn't know that though and part of the whole shtick was you may lose your fingers at a brutal retort concert as helping hands pulled the others to safety and the doors were barred shut again the air was filled with questions where's tiny how bad is it out there where are the others did you make it to reno and who the hell are you cobb was there telling everyone to shut the hell up let them breathe for a minute and the crowd quieted down nearly everyone in the truck stop was there trying to get a look at them all with questions tiny cobb asked gunny just shook his head still trying to get his breath he had been running at a pretty hard jog when the van had come off the exit ramp just a few miles up the road and it stopped for him he was covered in dried gore his shirt soaked through with drying blood and brain matter and sweat the biker punk rocker early halloween guy or whatever he was looked even worse he was covered with foul smelling nastiness from the gutting and head splattering of the two he had killed long dog looked none the worse for wear never having tangled with the undead up close and personal he let his beretta do his talking his gold chains and chrome grille still intact and spotless cobb pointed at gunny you hit the showers you're stinking up the place he growled then pointing towards the trucker's hallway you too stabby mcstabila you're dripping all over my floors i'm jody the masked man said in a thick british accent by way of introduction yeah sure you are cobb rasped and made shooting motions toward the showers the gathered crowd started sending questions at them again as they started to move off there will be plenty of time to tell stories after they've been checked out and when they ain't stinking up the place cobb raised his voice to be heard over the crowd again gunny looked at the newcomer who had slipped the mask up on his head come on stabby he said and the crowd parted quickly to let them buy not wanting to come in contact with anything that was dripping off of them sarah and stacy were on their heels where are you going gunny ass when he realized they were being followed anybody that comes in looking like you two gets checked for bites stacy replied that's right cobb said we've come up with a few rules where you were out goofing off that's the main one nobody comes back inside if they've had contact unless they're checked out nobody if you don't like it there's a door he jerked his thumb behind him so you want me to get naked gunny ass to half grin in his face i had your junk in my hands for the hernia check last time you came in for a physical stacy reported if i remember right i won't be getting too excited there were hoots of laughter from the drivers and he was saved from trying to come up with a witty one-liner by the british guy you come with me then love maybe i got something you can get excited about she just rolled her eyes as they started for the shower area again chapter 15 gunny didn't dawdle in the shower just crank the water up as hot as he could stand it and stepped in fully clothed except for his boots he didn't have to get naked for stacey after all she made him pull his shirt off but there were no tears in his pants no seeping bloodstains so she pronounced him good she left clucking to herself at the crisscrossing of old battle wounds scarring his back and chest he scrubbed mercilessly at the crusted gore watching the drain water circle red as he stripped off cleaning the worst of it out of his clothes as he went while in the shower he reflected back on the past several hours he had waited in the cramped area under the bunk hoping the milling horde would forget about him and leave a few of them had managed to climb or fall into the cab and couldn't figure out how to get back out he was afraid they would smell him or hear his pounding heart but they never reacted never suspected there was a 200 pound dinner for them only a foot away they just kept bumping into each other and half falling over the shifter from the sounds of it the horde outside of the truck calmed down after their meal was finished and just bumped around milling about from what he could make out they stayed for a long time hours gunny kept waiting for something to draw them away hoping there would be a noise somewhere but knew if there was that meant this mob would be chasing down some other poor soul he was afraid to sleep or even doze for a second he was prone to snore and if he did even once he kept going over what he knew about his wife and son she was probably safe with the group in the building she was in but for how long his son was at school maybe he was safe locked away in detention maybe he had been one of the ones that were infected what had caused the infection anyway what could turn the whole world into mindless killing machines in a single day it followed the path of the sun that he knew but what was the trigger chemtrails a passing comet full of deadly bacteria from the other side of the universe aliens clearing the planet so they could have it the illuminati he was getting ridiculous and he knew it all those things had been in movies he'd seen over the years that wasn't it though it was something a little closer to home he thought some man-made bug he wracked his brain trying to remember just what was the trigger in all the zombie movies he'd seen this was life imitating art or had the governments of the world had this particularly nasty virus and art had been imitating life the movies and books usually blamed it on the cdc having a security breach or the russians or the chinese they would blame an infected vaccine or a cabal of the super-rich wanting to eliminate all the useless eaters or some mad genocidal maniac deciding the planet would be better off without humans the whole world fell in a day except possibly some islands and the middle east if wirebender was right could the muslims have done this they had the desire the crazy ones did anyway but that was as far-fetched as the aliens doing it he had known a lot of decent people he met during his time in country muslims that hated the extremists even more than he did they would have never let something like this happen anyway how could they they didn't have the means they couldn't spray that many chemicals in the air or dump tens of thousands of gallons into every water supply over the world without being caught and stopped it wasn't airborne no one in the truck stop had caught it and the people from north and south of them had it wasn't in the water they had the same city water as everyone else the sun wasn't causing it plenty of them had been out in it but it was a trigger sun came up people went mad all around them but not them no one there had been infected except by being bitten from someone who hadn't been at the three flags divine intervention gunny believed in god but he didn't think he would destroy the world except for a slightly run-down truck stop in an out of the way part of nevada maybe the globalists he'd been to the georgia guidestones since they moved to atlanta it said right there in the stones that world population should be reduced to 500 million but how that was the question that was more important than who if they knew how maybe they could stop it or at least make sure they avoided whatever was causing it he listened intently for a few moments quietly trying to stretch the aching muscles in his back they were still milling around outside just inches away still bumbling around in the cab of the truck occasionally falling onto the bunk then clumsily getting back up weird how they can be so dumb and slow now but if they see prey they're like a finely tuned killing machine he went back to his exercise in futility trying to figure out something the best and brightest in washington hadn't been able to do with all their nsa databases and spy satellites and war colleges and whatever else is tax dollars paid for the sun came up the world went mad not just the states the whole world what did we all have in common when the sun came up we woke up nope nothing there we took a shower nope not in the water maybe the soap no some soap was months old some knew wasn't that we had breakfast how could that be it breakfast in japan was rice and soup fish and sausage breakfast in europe was cheese and rolls maybe some salami or something italians have spaghetti or pizza for breakfast what did russians eat bear africans didn't they eat bugs and stuff lions and tigers maybe that was the asians or maybe they ate cats and what about the brits blood pudding and spam he knew he was being ridiculous again his mind kept wandering off in the crazy tangents he didn't know what other cultures typically had for breakfast he knew an american breakfast was anything from biscuits and gravy to sausage and eggs bacon and eggs ham and eggs green eggs and ham common denominator there was none maybe eggs those are eaten all over the world somebody spike all the chickens with zombie virus meat that was pretty universal he thought more so in america but most countries usually had some type of meat available the indians dot not feather didn't eat beef but they ate pork and goat and chicken zombies ate long pork he grown to himself jeez you're one sick bastard the middle eastern countries certainly didn't eat pig probably a death by stoning if they caught you eating a ham sandwich but none of the middle eastern countries were infected if wirebender's map was right and they didn't eat pork the rest of the world did bacon scratch it called it do you think papa would serve that here kim had asked gunny's heart seemed to stop in his chest his mind reeled at the implications the muslim countries had formed a coalition that had used massive amounts of their oil money to buy up meat packing plants it had been all over the news they were starting a new era of peacefulness they were going to show the world they could adapt and blend into the modern age no longer holding to centuries old customs they had begun producing all manner of pork products and shipping them all over the world today was the first day they were supposed to be used although all had been delivered and were selling in stores yesterday evening the day before the attacks had started happening sporadically around the world today there had been all kinds of breakfast festivities of friendship planned with free products and everything on the store shelves had been reduced to costs so low the company was losing billions the ceo had said they would make up the difference in sales later they had given every school every military post every government cafeteria free samples in hopes that they would consider buying their products in the future couldn't believe it wouldn't believe it it was too monstrous too evil no one would do that he told himself but now that he had thought it he couldn't unthink it he needed more information that little bit he had heard when he was listening to the traffic reports in the different cities wasn't enough the news had been playing while he was waiting for helicopter bob or janie at the traffic desk but he hadn't been paying attention just waiting to hear which way was the best way to go but it all came back now the news he had been ignoring the president praising an end to hostilities soon the helicopters flying in fresh salaam products to the navy ships at sea the thankful clips of city officials telling the reporters how many homeless and low-income families they would be able to feed with the generous gifts from the new muslim alliance of nations peace and goodwill to men the world without conflict by christmas he had to be wrong had to be but the pieces all fit of course there would be no more war they had won he felt sick were there really army safe zones for refugees like his wife had said they were going to be from what he'd seen and heard today he doubted it he bet the military got hit the hardest they were the earliest to rise and and they always had bacon and sausage for breakfast he understood now why the government didn't have some kind of warnings out to shoot on site anyone acting strangely they had seen europe fall knew it would be here when the sun came up over the eastern seaboard they were probably scrambling everybody that drew a government check to try to find a way to stop it hunched over keyboards testing air and water samples measuring gamma radiation or whatever nasa did as they ate their bacon and egg biscuit the military had surely been on red alert all soldiers report for duty calling trees initiated all passes denied all leave cancelled all hands on deck now have a hearty breakfast while we wait for orders gunny had been so lost in his thoughts the sudden screaming of the horde as they sensed some new prey made him start bumping his head against the bottom of the bunk lid above him he heard the two i was at three inside the cab of the wrecker keening and scrambling to get out heard them bashing themselves against the windows and clawing at one another now or never he thought while they were distracted and making too much noise to hear him he didn't want them to stay trapped in the cab and then go back to their aimless bumping around he gave it a few seconds until he heard the last of the horde outside disappearing down the road and slowly open the lid just enough to see out they were at the driver's window trying to go through it but one of them had climbed up on the dash and seemed to realize he could just go back out the way he came in there were only two and he had the gerber pulled out of his leg sheath and in his hand hopefully this time he could hit the soft part of the skull through an eye or ear if not at the base of the spine it hadn't gone as planned they had heard or sensed him and both came back at him forcing him back into the sleeper and just stabbing frantically at faces and chests and arms barely keeping their teeth off of him using the pillow on the bed as a shield it was nasty gruesome work with blood and guts and all manner of disgusting body fluids splattering everywhere by the time he finally killed them with lucky stabs they both had been cut wide open must have had 50 gaping wounds in them it had been simple after that he had opened the door and started running towards the truck stop the horde having disappeared in the other direction the water running off of him and his clothes on the tile floor of the shower was clean finally the gray matter and black blood all washed away chapter 16 gunny came out of the shower wrapped in a towel and carrying his wet clothes and boots he walked down to his truck that was still in the shop and grabbed a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt draping his wet ones over the mirrors to dry he wanted to get with wire bender run his theory of how all this happened to him see if he could dig anything up to either corroborate or to let him know he was way off base as he near the shop he heard raised voices coming from the diner again he was going to ignore them wasn't his problem but then he heard someone say your fault boy he couldn't place the voice but he knew they had to be talking to the ghetto kid none of the black drivers he knew would let that slide if it were set in anger and he didn't hear the sound of someone's nose breaking he didn't even know the kid's name but he knew he had tried to help him at the wreck and he'd been out scouting the rural areas he'd picked him up on the road when he was pretty much done in from all the running he had been doing he dressed like some rapper gangster from the hood but he had a calmness about him a good head on his shoulders he was more than he seemed to be gunny didn't hesitate he opened the door to the cb shop and yelled in the muslims did it they spiked all the meat they were selling and sent sending out with a zombie virus see if that checks out he didn't wait for an answer he just linked into stride heading straight for the commotion when he came through the doors he stopped and just watched the little drama play out for a moment shaky was in the kid's face red-faced and angry about something he looked sweaty even though the air-conditioning was working fine he was pointing his finger poking it at the kid's chest punctuating each word shaky was a big man but big as in he'd let himself go over the years too many buffets too many bags of chips and sodas driving down the road and not enough exercise he had been in the military but he was always a little vague on specifics gunny had seen him around the years but only had a passing acquaintance with him he held his tongue for a moment he didn't want to fight another man's fight but if push came to shove he'd be there the kid had more balls than shaky did old shaky hadn't been outside the safety of the truck stop all day and that kid had been scouting alternative escape routes if they needed them you hadn't been playing that jungle music at full volume they wouldn't come in the parking lot in the first place it's your fault gumball and ozzy got bit and it's your fault the deputy's dead boy shaky repeated himself his face nearly purple with rage using his 280 pounds to intimidate long dog just stood there and took it the red-faced man and his poking finger he had planned on shredding his whole ghetto persona had planned on quietly slipping out to the bathroom and scrubbing off the henna neck tattoos stripping off his costume he was wearing because that's exactly what it was a costume he mentally kicked himself for not getting rid of it when he had been driving around but it hadn't occurred to him he was too busy trying to stay alert and alive scratching out notes of different routes by the dashboard light but the old man had drug him in here where the light was better and had him roll up his sleeves as he scrutinized him for bites then the argument started he had been playing the part of some cheap from the hood to draw any police attention away from the van but all they saw was what he wanted them to see the hood rat his plan was working too well he had decided to get back to his normal self but this cracker had got in his face before he had a chance blaming him for everything said he ran off and left the rest to die didn't believe for one instant that he was scouting routes probably got lost and now just found his way back long dog's side when all else fails show him what she got at this point talking was useless he'd been talking and hadn't done a bit of good they weren't hearing him weren't listening words were cheap if he wanted to throw in with this group and most of them seemed okay he had to show them he wasn't a liability he had to show them that he could be an asset had to show him he wasn't going to take any from some redneck peckerwood he was snake fast and moved like lightning pulling his beretta out of its holster grabbing the fat man's finger with his left hand and violently twisting it up and around his back he bent him over the table his face against the wood the cold steel on the nine millimeter against the back of his head it happened so fast it was so quick and savage even everyone watching didn't quite know how it happened the silence in the room was deafening my name is lawrence not boy he said but only my mom calls me that my friends call me lars a quick glance around the room reaffirmed to him that no one else had pulled their iron this was just between the two of them with his arm nearly dislocated and twisted up behind his back shaky was helpless to do anything about the steel pressed against his head he closed his eyes against the pain and tried to wrap his mind around how the tables could be turned so fast he waited for a shot but the kid stepped back quickly and holstered the weapon then to everyone's amazement he snapped to attention in a posture any marine would have acknowledged as perfect he pulled out his beretta again the same model he had used for years in the army this time bringing it up to port arms then expertly dropping the magazine catching it one-handed and slapping it down on the table in front of shaky's face his movements were precise measured and with full military discipline quick and smooth robotically perfect he executed a one-hand slide lock catching the ejected round cat quick and slapping another table nose up beside the perfectly placed magazine he held the weapon out in an inspection arms gesture as if to an officer who wasn't there for a few seconds then with a quick twist brought it back to his chest shaky had pulled himself up off the table and along with everyone else was just staring at this kid executing a perfect military small arms inspection process he had even done the one-handed slide lock a very difficult maneuver the snaps and clicks the pops and slaps sounded loud in the silence as he smacked the magazine back in and let the slide go home chambering around he twisted the beretta in the robotic way formal military actions take and slid it firmly back into its holster he immediately went into a parade rest position and addressed shaky in the army i was called sergeant brown he said he let the quick and jerky military actions go and hitched up his pants tightening the belt so they rode around his waist not his ass he removed the sideways hat and pulled the chrome grille out of his mouth revealing perfectly white teeth he tossed them on the table and snapped the fake gold chains around his neck and they joined the rest back on the block they called me long dog he said but that is dead you know why i was dressed like this you know why i was driving around that hooptie and blasting tupac you ever see smokey in the bandits he waited for an answer shaky nodded his head like everyone else a little dumbfounded at this strange turn of events i want you to know what i was doing i was burnt he poked himself in the chest enunciating it i was the bandit i was running interference for any cops we happen to cross make them eyeball me not the van and my cousins in the van they were the snowman except we weren't smuggling coors to a party we had the real show millions of dollars right there in the back not worth much now and there ain't no more law that's worried about a bucket full of powder so there you have it bubba i told you the roads are full of them things just wandering around looking for somebody to eat i didn't draw those zombies they were coming in here whether they heard my music or not he reached out and picked up the single round from the table and held it up in front of shaky's eyes you call me boy one more time i'll put this bullet through your cracker-ass face the tension was ratcheting up again but shaky wasn't so sure of himself anymore this kid wasn't who he thought he was i wasn't afraid of him but he wasn't gonna back down not in front of everybody how come nobody in the crowd was helping him if gunny had the kids back maybe he was telling the truth had tried to help maybe he had been out scouting roads and not running around lost they eyed each other almost nose to nose each waiting for the other to make that first move the tension was building nearly cracking the air as jaws tightened eyes narrowed and fists clenched you owe two dollars to the cusp jar lars kim said walking over and standing between them shaking the jar with a big hand printed label on it no swearing in here you have to pay she smiled sweetly a dollar for every dirty word she held out her hand for payment there was a collective sigh a nervous laughter in the room as people let out of breath they hadn't realized they were holding dams to rules shaky said and laughed with the rest of them partly out of relief and partly because he thought he had just avoided an ass whooping better pay up quick she'll be at an interest if you don't somebody hollered lars couldn't help but grin and shake his head as he reached for his wallet what kind of people had he thrown in with chapter 17 gunny went up to the counter caught martha's eye and asked if there was anything left to eat you'll say what you want i make myself she said he knew she wanted to stay busy wanted something to do and he was the only one left who hadn't eaten so he ordered up a bacon and peanut butter cheeseburger and asked the cowboys if he could snag one of their beers hey come on over here cobb barked at him he was at the biggest table with grizz stacy sarah cadillac jack and his son tommy they had some papers spread out in front of them and it looked like they had been making plans gunny slid into the oversized booth as the girls scrunched up a little to make room tell us what it's like out there cobb said without preamble how far did you get he told them he told them about the hordes that numbered in the thousands about the main arteries being completely gridlocked with abandoned cars about their pack mentality and the feeding frenzy their inhuman strength and speed the fact that they felt no pain had no fear but were pretty dumb and docile if they weren't on the chase stacy quizzed him relentlessly about everything he heard and saw when he was under the bunk then she and sarah were speculating why they didn't go after him they must hunt by sight maybe sound couldn't be smell he wasn't sure if he was being insulted or not gunny noticed they had quite a crowd gathered at the other tables everyone listening in intently he told them his theory his idea that he had just yelled out to wirebender yesterday he would have been called an islamophobe or racist or even thinking such a thing but today there was contemplation even though most people couldn't believe such a thing could happen yeah why have bender made contact with some brass at cheyenne mountain bridge said they got hit pretty hard too some of the guys coming off night shift managed to lock down the areas they were in but most of it is lost are they in communication with anyone else gunny asked a few dozen countries have been on the ham but it's just guys like us some survivalist type groups some remote hunting lodges quite a few up in idaho and canada the russians up in yamunta mountain claimed to be unaffected but they're scared they watched the whole world fall moscow included they had been in contact with washington before it fell they hoped we would be able to stop it man there ain't no commies and yanks anymore just people wanting to survive well they're cut off up there without resupply infrastructure cadillac jack chimed in drawing on his years of service and military intelligence the road of bones doesn't even go near them and it's the only road through that whole area they've probably got their winter supplies laid in but they won't last forever the boys under the mountain in colorado springs aren't any better off he continued they're not allowed to have weapons in there so they're stuck in a big hole in the ground unless they have access to the mess area and all the food they're screwed probably only have what little bit is in the office refrigerators they don't even have snack machines down there one of the tourists raised a hand and timidly asked we still have military operating not really cobb answered we've talked to norad and that's it he saw the uncomprehending look on her face and elaborated norad is who launches the nukes they're outside of colorado springs underneath cheyenne mountain they are in the most secure bunker in the world but only a handful survived the initial outbreak as far as we know so a bunch of military intelligence eggheads would have to battle their way out of there with improvised weapons i don't give them much of a chance gunny's sighed the news that wirebender had been able to glean was catastrophically bad no word from washington or anyone claiming to be in charge no word from the president he probably ate the first bacon this morning for the cameras you know politicians grizz said and they all had to agree everyone wire bender had either talked to you directly or anyone the boys in cheyenne mountain had told him about were all in the same situation isolated and cut off acting autonomously because there simply was no more government no one was in charge the soldiers in assigned nuclear bunkers and fortified bases around the world that hadn't been overrun were just people wanting to understand and live they no longer had politicians pointing in another country and telling them they were the enemy every survivor he had been able to contact had lost nearly everything martha brought gunny's burger out with a heaping supply of seasoned fries and he dove in offering the fries to anyone that wanted some shaky go relief scratch tell him i need him here cobb barked out and went back to his list he'd been looking at anyone know how long the electricity will last he looked up and asked the room in general after a moment a hesitant voice spoke up it depends but if no one is there to replenish the coal supply two or three days four on the outside she said reno gets its power from coal-fired plants not hydro so probably about four days it was the girl and the matching clothes their boyfriend gunny noted he thought they had left with the rest they all just looked at her eyebrows raised i was studying to be an electrical engineer she said shyly we toured some of the local plants they have huge automated conveyor systems to feed the furnaces directly from the rail lines cobb grunted and nodded and scribbled something on the paper our biggest concern is gonna be the water he said we've got generators that will run the place and the fuel tanks were filled up a couple of days ago they're three-quarters full still i guess i won't be paying that bill but we're on city water and as soon as the electric goes out we'll be out of water there's an old well out back that the old man had before they piped water in but it ain't been used in years i'll have to get a few guys on that tomorrow he made a few more notes and one of the women from the surrounding tables asked if there was any place to sleep glancing at the little girl nodding off in her lap the truck stop used to have a bunk house for drivers when most trucks didn't have sleepers on them but that was long gone the space converted to the various shops in trucker's alley we're gonna have to rough it tonight cobb told her the most comfortable spots will be here in the diner at the booze there's plenty of mexican blankets in the store help yourselves to them we'll clear out some areas in driver's alley tomorrow make something a little more private i got a pallet of moving blankets in my wagon hot rod said they'll make good mattresses piled up a few thick them doors ain't being opened up at night cobb growled the finality we could fix things up tomorrow when there's light to see gunny looked around as he finished his burger and asked well where's that stabby guy i have to hear his story how was he all dressed up like halloween grizz chuckled seems like we got us a rock star in our midst he said they had a show tonight in reno the rest of the band took off to go party but he stayed behind in their tour bus to play xbox they never came back he is fried out of his gourd on something stacy said he's strunk tight i'd say meth but his teeth are still good skin too so probably cocaine probably coked up sarah agreed we see it a lot well it's not booze gunny said you see the way he took those two out like watching a blood ballet even when he got knocked on his ass he bounced up like it was a michael jackson dance move it does have that going for it but unless you've been using it for a while you'd likely just get stoned stacy said it builds up affects dopamine levels which affect your muscle and reaction times quicken stem in some people messes up the frontal cortex in your brain so you don't feel fear or worry about things like being eaten by zombies so he could be a great zombie fighter when stoned and a huge incompetent blob went straight he's still in the shower gunny ass not seeing him in the diner now tommy said pops turned all the arcade machines to free play he's down there with the rest of the kids scratch came up to the table overhearing the last of their conversation dude he's always on something don't you know who he is that's jody blades the front man for brutal retort he said excitedly he's all over the net he posts pictures of himself snorting cocaine off of hooker's asses he lives to rock and roll life man destroys hotel rooms and everything i caught one of their shows last year in la it was unreal the whole stage was trashed with all the stuff he was chopping up i heard one dude lost half his hand during one of his stage slides the mosh pit was soaked he trailed off when he saw all of them just looking at him with those old people looks of we couldn't possibly care less uh anyway yeah he's kind of famous for being a cokehead he finished lamely you needed me top cobb went on to quiz him about the behavior of the infected how long they stayed agitated what he thought was drawing them to cluster around the truck stop scratch had been on duty on the roof most of the night hadn't wanted to be relieved he kept watching for tiny and gunny kim would take him a sandwich and cool drinks from time to time and keep him company cobb already knew most of the answers but since everyone was listening into this little meeting he wanted to get everything they knew out on the table so everyone had as much information as they could there were some hard decisions coming up tomorrow and he wanted people to sleep on their choices they were life and death choices stay here or try to leave again scratch reiterated what he'd already told cobb for the benefit of everyone else and when he was finished cobb looked around the room and spotted who he was looking for hey bob marley show us on this map the road just scouted again lars was near the back talking quietly with a few of the other people his long beaded braids quietly clinking back and forth as he shook his head no again as he was asked about getting through reno he chuffed he knew the old man wasn't being hateful that's just how old first sergeants talked to everyone he'd heard the guys call him top and judging from his demeanor and scars it had been earned not given he spun the map towards him and scanned it for a moment then pointing out the different roads he had taken how far he had traveled down them before turning and the infected situation it was pretty simple and straightforward the dead had all day to find and infect everyone if there were people there were zombies he hadn't seen anyone alive but it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities if someone had burglar bars on their windows and doors and had been inside cobb went back to scribbling notes and gunny took the opportunity to ask tommy about his truck he still wanted to leave still had to try to make it home to his family i've got some ideas he said after that fiasco was tiny then paused remembering the screaming clawing gnashing masses tiny being drug off the hood the unbridled fury and raw strength of those those those monsters the fear he had felt the nearly incapacitating fear he realized he had stopped and everyone was looking at him he gave his head a half shake and took the last swig of his beer right i need to arm up my truck build a cow catcher and reinforce the windows he continued i don't care how much truck you got if you run into a horde they will overwhelm it you need to be able to shunt them aside not let them pile up and over the hood that's how we lost tiny they were up and over and smashing through the windshield breaking their way in like a snow plow tommy said and flipped over a paper placemat and started sketching between them with tommy knowing what was practical with the iron pieces he had on hand and gunny having just been through a horde of zombies and gridlocked cars abandoned on the road they came up with a pretty good design the weakest point was the front tires if one of them blew from debris on the road or from bouncing a car out of the way the truck was stopped no way around it we've got some industrial tires we keep on hand for the local construction trucks and there are plenty old dump trucks out back with the oversized wheels on them one of his mechanics chimed in wouldn't handle very well at high speed but they're just about bulletproof tommy quickly added the oversized extreme duty tires to the drawing and erased part of the fenders so they would have clearance looks like mad max scratch said how many can you build none tonight tommy replied i'm going to bed it's going on two o'clock chapter 18 kenny was asleep in his bunk just by the sheer dumb luck of pulling his rig in for a service it was safe in the mechanics bay and he got all the comforts his truck had to offer he told cobb and martha they were welcome to use it but they refused scratch said he would use it as a matter of fact he needed it because of his arm and all gunny just gave him the finger as he had walked toward his truck in his comfortable bed there was a knocking on the side of the sleeper he was awake instantly listening it wasn't a lot lizard that much he knew not here inside the bay gunny he heard it sounded like the british guy what's up he said no drowsiness or confusion in his voice that why i bend a bloke needs you might jeez doesn't he ever sleep tell him i'm on the way when gunny walked into the shop a few minutes later fully dressed armed and alert cobb and grizz were there also wirebender was the only one looking frazzled and red-eyed stabby was on one of the computers loading up usb sticks he's here sir transferring to comps now wirebender sat and slid the big silver tabletop ham radio microphone over the counter towards gunny he looked at it and held his hands palms up in a what gesture it's general carson at norad cop sat around his unlit lucky strike who well what's he want with me cobb gestured to the mic just answer the radio gunny he said looking a little frustrated at the lack of answers he hit the push to talk button and said you know this is gunny go ahead is this sergeant first class meadows formerly the first special forces operational detachment the voice came back through the mic what do these guys want any thought the old anger in him rose up to the surface faster than he thought possible he went from frosty to instant piss in half a second these officers and political appointees had ruined his life for a while and being called by his old unit and rank brought it all back he and his wife had a long-term plan worked out that included him retiring after 20 years drawing a nice pension and finding a quiet little town to live in a place where he could get a job as a deputy or patrolman and she could find work at the school there they would reap the benefits of a comfortable life after the grueling years of active duty the long separations all of the missed birthdays and christmases and thanksgivings the constant danger he found himself in obeying orders and doing ops all around the world it would have all been worth it with a small town life where all they had to do was break up a few bar fights on the weekend maybe catch a speeder every once in a while and get in plenty of fishing hang out at the local cafe with the rest of the town folk maybe build himself an old school hot rod but uncle sam was finished with him after he gave them 15 years no benefits no retirement no medical just dishonorable walking papers they had very little savings and it went quickly lacey had finally landed a good job in atlanta while he floundered he couldn't go to the police academy with a dishonorable discharge hell he couldn't even find work driving a forklift in a warehouse once the background check was run on him he didn't have the stomach to join up with some of the contractor outfits like grizz had done he just wanted peace and quiet and to be left alone that's when he stumbled onto the idea of driving a truck money was good you were your own boss so there were no embarrassing questions about your past and the inevitable i'm sorry sir but our policy he and his wife were used to separations and at least it would only be for a few weeks at a time not months and most important nobody was shooting at him now they were calling him by his old rank the one they had stripped from him no sir that would be private meadows but i'm not even that i'm sure you have the paperwork right there in front of you general if you need a military man may i suggest first sergeant cobb or sergeant first class griswold both fine men the general wouldn't be deterred that easily funny thing sergeant i'm looking right at your file i have page after page of glowing performance reports awards medals a few purple hearts bronze stars a silver star hell son you've got a distinguished service cross i don't even know anyone that has one of those then i have a one page dd214 where it shows your rank as private with a dishonorable discharge and that's it no reason given everything redacted can you clarify everyone else was staring at him now grizz stroking his beard and looking quite impressed stabby asking is that good all those stars and thingies are you like a hero or something gunny didn't like to talk about his military life none of these men knew much about his former career except what little they had gleaned over the years they knew he had been a grunt and had seen some action a lot of the guys who had seen too much over there were like that quiet observant rarely talked about their tours they knew not to pry everyone had secrets some darker than others i punched a general gunny said and released the button that ought to shut him up he thought there was laughter in the background when the microphone came back to life well if you did i'm sure he deserved it general carson said he knew gunny wasn't being honest there would have been a court martial in there for that and some jail time but it didn't matter everything else in his jacket told him this was the man he wanted and he had a strong hunch this was the man he needed but i didn't wake you up to talk about that sergeant i'm going to put you on speaker here my counterparts in russia china and germany will be listening to us unfortunately these are the only governments that any of us have been able to raise we've contacted a number of ships at sea and most of the submarines but as far as friendly governments we four are it the general paused for a second where they assumed he was patching in the others then finally got to his point tell us how you came to the determination that the muslim extremists were behind this attack through infected meat products gunny was taken aback i i don't know if it was he said trying to adjust to the change in the direction of the questions and suddenly aware there were a lot of people listening to him it was just a logical conclusion i came to and asked sergeant kowalski to see if there was anything on the news about it see if it was even within the realm of possibility you hadn't had any inside information something leaked to you by any of your former military associates the general asked no sir just a deduction with the few facts that i had gunny replied i was guessing did they think he had something to do with this that he was discharged because he had terrorist ties that he was still pissed and had decided to kill the whole world because of it if i may came an asian accented voice over the microphone of course go ahead general fang carson said we were not affected as severely as much of the rest of the civilized world he said his english spoken slowly and very clearly our military bases did not partake in the gifts from our islamic neighbors when we learned of this theory from sergeant kowalski we immediately began to investigate the possibility of such an act we sent entire companies of soldiers into the town to bring back a sampling of the salaam meets many of my men died but the packages they returned with that were not labeled halal were very much infected with the most disturbing contagion those bastards gunny thought it was one thing to think you knew something something else entirely to know you knew something is it reversible he asked the chinese general came back to answer no we do not think it is the reanimates are truly dead as near as we can determine in the short time we have had no heartbeat they do not breathe it seems that the very essence that makes one alive makes one human is gone their spirit their soul if you understand this appears to be a virulent mutation of the serum many nations have been trying to perfect over the years a super soldier injection if you will that would help a wounded soldier heal quickly ignore his pain and continue to battle in a hyper-aggressive manner apparently the islamic scientists gained a sample to alter or perhaps even created their own so now what gunny said they won they kept it out of their countries now all they have to do is defend their borders until these things die off and they own the whole world this would not be happening a slavic voice said heavy with menace and barely controlled rage they will not take the world as easy as that they have released a zombie on us we will be releasing mother russia's fury on them the conversation went on until near dawn when everyone finally signed off gunny made his way back to the bunk hoping to get a few hours of sleep bone tired and weary from all the things he had learned it all seemed hopeless worse than he could have imagined the conversation replayed in his head iran had nuked israel and was already in a mopping up extermination campaign from the satellite images it was wholesale slaughter door-to-door murder the israelis had used the samson option and had sent their own nukes flying but there were a billion muslims and even the moderates were caught up in the frenzy this year's trip to mecca was the largest ever recorded it seemed nearly every muslim that was able had made the trip to saudi arabia did most of them even know what their leaders had done had they known what was coming and went to a safe area or was it just a general demand from imams this year that all believers must go were they afraid not to rejoice and celebrate and do victory dances in the streets even if they secretly didn't agree afraid of being targeted themselves by the extreme religious fanatics that had taken control of their religion while they had sat back and done nothing too late now the russians had control of their nukes and they were pragmatic about it they couldn't maintain them if they didn't fire them off they would eventually be a danger to everyone in the vicinity they could have shot them off into space or the ocean gunny and a number of other voices had argued but general carson had told all hams to maintain silence or they would be shut out of the one-sided conversation completely he or one of the other commanders would occasionally ask a specific question to various individuals around the world but that was the only input allowed so the last living representatives of humanity had to shut up and listen while four men discussed and decided the fate of millions it seemed that a lot of conversation had happened before the hams were privy to it because the generals were uncannily honest with each other no posturing for position no ambiguity about how much firepower they could bring to bear they all knew there were no more back channels to negotiate through no months of waiting for answers to questions they all laid their cards on the table china and russia had control of their ships nukes and subs america had no access to nukes at the moment but it was a possibility within a few weeks they still had the military fiber optic network links to the nsa databases and control of their satellites germany only had contact with their navy no one else russia was pushing for full nuclear annihilation of the entire middle eastern region scorched earth glass parking lot gunny got the feeling they were going to do it whether anyone agreed with them or not but they were at least going through the motions of trying to have a consensus by next week another billion people would be dead they hope to completely destroy all things middle east eradicate everyone who practiced the religion of peace by their reasoning then the rest of the world would have a chance to rebuild without being slaughtered as infidels or forcibly converted the deciding factor for all of them aside from the russian general who seemed pissed off the entire time they were on the conference was the latest satellite imagery it showed barriers along the borders of the peninsula of northern turkey completely sealing it off from europe by going back through the previous satellite photos they could see the materials for it being amassed months in advance the turkish government had known it was coming and were prepared in egypt the suez canal was heavily guarded and all crossings of it were thoroughly blocked to the east massive fortifications had gone up overnight in a well-planned action that sacrificed some muslim territories but protected most of them there had been unprecedented movements of people into the guarded areas basically the entire middle east and all of the muslim countries had been walled off the people responsible for noticing these things in the various governments throughout the world must have chalked it up to the annual pilgrimage to mecca it was a strange few hours discussing killing that many people it left gunny with an empty feeling knowing there were good people over there and he found it hard to believe they didn't try to warn anyone that an operation with so many involved didn't have anyone who disagreed that their caliphate was so important to them they would write off everyone who didn't believe as they did the remaining governments had all agreed to wait at least another week before retaliating so the americans could gather as much information as possible from their eyes in the sky even though there was irrefutable proof which nations had either done it or been privy to the information and let it go forward there were still millions and millions who had nothing to do with it they would all die for what a handful of their leaders had done guilty by association gunny guessed all wars were like that though it just seemed so big now push some buttons a billion people die but those same nations had banded together to send out deliberately contaminated food and it worked perfectly they didn't deserve mercy or leniency four or five billion people were dead because of their actions still walking around but dead nonetheless after the other command centers had signed off general carson asked if anyone in the ham radio audiences had ever held elected office in america no one had he tried to get everyone's names and most gave willingly although a few of the survivalist groups were hesitant at first they gave the number of people in their group after some cajoling and being reminded that a consensus was constitutional so cheyenne mountain could try to guess how many people remained did we still have a nation if there were only a few thousand survivors left the general offered them the only help he could he said if they would give him their addresses he would give them the latest satellite information of their areas when they spoke again they still had access to nsa computers and all of the imagery as it updated but he didn't know how long that would last he would let them know what the areas around them looked like if there were any huge hordes moving in their direction cobb had given the address of the truck stop and gunny gave his wife's work address specifically the rooftop and his son's high school that's where he was heading as soon as he got his truck welded up the way he wanted it took a while to get the information from everyone but the general pointed out that it was his job to keep the american people safe that usually meant big things but if it were down to individuals now his men would do everything they could to help they weren't going to abandon their post in this time of need gunny tossed and turned dead tired but not sleepy his mind still racing with the horror of what he had learned what had happened and what was going to happen the chinese had the most complete labs and personnel and they hoped to know more about the infected by tomorrow today when they would once again have a virtual meet-up there seemed to be more the general wasn't saying but that was military men he just hoped it wasn't more bad news andy hoped jesse would stay at the school and not try to make his way home jesse escape day two jesse was trying to pee as quietly as possible but it was still embarrassing they had decided to hunker down for the night hoping the infected in the building would wander off if they kept quiet they had moved the trash can over to one corner of the room and put the white board in front of it to act as a simple barrier for privacy but it didn't cover the splashing noises whatever at least he didn't have to take a big stinky poo yet wouldn't be so bad if it was just a guy's but he wasn't in the habit of going to the bathroom in front of a girl it was morning the hazy sun filtering through the quarter windows set high up along the walls they had barricaded the doors quietly as they could yesterday and then waited they never did get through to anyone in their phones and the long four police sirens coming to rescue them never came late in the evening as fewer and fewer people were trying to use overburdened cell towers they started to get internet access although it was spotty they learned enough though it was zombies that had been prowling the hallways and it wasn't just their school they had surfed the net looking for information until one by one their phone batteries were nearly dead by then they knew it was over that the world was lost and no one would be coming to save them the game servers were empty only npcs populated them nobody was updating their facebook status instagram had nothing new snapchat was dead and there were no tweets on twitter the news reports and updates they found on websites that still worked were all hours old no news stories were being reported and in the end they could only log into traffic and city camera feeds but there were enough of those from around the world for them to know the outbreak wasn't isolated it was global sheila had cried quietly and the guys would never admit it but they had to the world was dead it happened so fast so complete it took them a while to wrap their heads around it they whispered long into the night about how it could have happened and why they had been affected it must have been an airborne virus they reasoned and they were all immune gary said that was mathematically impossible but it was the only thing they could come up with they had slept fitfully on the tiled floor with only books as pillows when they awoke to the gray light of morning they had all accepted the end of the world and were pragmatic about it they had watched thousands of zombie movies apocalypse films and dystopian futures played out on the small screen they had spent hundreds of hours in the wastelands with various video games they understood it like no adult ever could sure they were worried about family and friends but hadn't they come through it unscathed they were smart enough not to panic and break out of the room yesterday and lucky enough to be where they were no one would come out and say it but they all felt like they were the chosen ones the heroes of the movie and they would battle their way through and come out victorious in the end they were teenagers and each felt invincible to a degree they had nibbled on their lunches making them last through dinner the problem was water sheila had brought an apple juice the boys figured they would get a drink from the fountain if they were thirsty now they were all craving something to quench their dry throats jesse was shading his eyes trying to see out the door trying to spot any movement but was having no luck the glass was just too opaque like a shower door they had tried to pick the lock like they'd seen done on hundreds of tv shows and movies but it was futile they knew they couldn't break the glass it would bring the undead running late last night after the phones were nearly dead they went over plans to escape and had decided to slip through the quarter windows their first idea had been to hot wire a car then drive to each of their homes to look for family that was quickly shelved after the frustrating and useless try at picking the door lock they came to the conclusion that stealing a car wouldn't be as easy as the movies made it seem and they didn't want to be exposed in the parking lot for an hour trying to figure out how to do it the plan they finally came up with was to sneak into the woods behind the football field and cut through them towards jesse's house it wasn't the closest by roads but out of all their homes they could get to it without having to go through any neighborhoods jesse's place wasn't exactly rural but it was on a lake and the lots were huge so it wasn't built up too much when they had first moved he thought they were kind of rich having their own dock and living on the water but in georgia there were so many lakes the homes on them didn't cost much more than the ones that weren't the lake was between the school and his house and by bus it was a 30 minute ride to go all the way around if they could steal a boat and paddle across it wasn't far as the crow flies most of the houses had kayaks or canoes on their back porches and john boats or pontoons tied to their docks they only had to go on land for maybe half a mile or so with the last of the battery life on his phone he texted both his mom and dad to let them know he was fine and would be heading home he would wait for them there he put the phone in one of the ziplock baggies he had brought sandwiches in and offered the other bag to sheila she had a lunchable yesterday just cardboard to throw away jesse ran his dry tongue over his dry lips and tried to clear his dry throat he was so thirsty they all were they had to do this today they would be crazy with dehydration if they waited any longer we ready he whispered and they all nodded in the affirmative the one good piece of luck they had was that the detention room was at the back of the school with only the outdoor lunch area the football field and the soccer practice fields between them and the woods and the lake and then home doug pulled on the window slowly anticipating a screech of rusty hinges but it came open smoothly and quietly it was hinged at the bottom opening from the top and gary had the armrest of his chair already off handing it to him to use as a pry bar to pop the retaining arms off so they could remove the window completely doug did so as quietly as he could and in seconds had it off and handed it down to jesse he cautiously stuck his head out and looked both directions then quickly pulled back he motioned frantically for the window and jesse gave it back to him he slipped the bottom hinges back into place and closed it hurriedly twisting the lock shut then climbed down how bad is it sheila asked there's four or five of them just wandering around in the patio area kind of aimless like he said in a hushed voice i think one of them was mr prater well that sucks jesse said i liked him what sucks worse gary said is that he's between us and freedom we need a decoy something to distract them sheila said who's the fastest runner that would be you gary said dryly i'm not so quick anymore it would be you doug said quietly you run track we don't you volunteering sheila realized they were right and quickly backtracked you saw how fast they were in the hallway yesterday she said in a loud whisper i can't outrun that they're like superhuman or something we don't need to sacrifice anyone jesse said we just need a distraction something to make them take off in the opposite direction so we can sneak in behind the bleachers from there it's a straight shot to the woods and we're kind of hidden the whole way they looked helplessly around the room for anything they could use i could throw a stapler or something but i don't think i can get any distance from the angle down here doug said it would have to go around the corner of the building to draw them away right jesse said still glancing around the room unconsciously rubbing his hands around his beltline tucking his thumbs in his underwear then his eyes lit up sheila give me a bra he said eyeing her chest she had a pretty good set of hooters although he couldn't begin to guess what size they were what she whispered so loudly it was nearly a normal tone looking at him in shock and crossing her arms across her breasts nobody wants to see your boobs jesse half laughed raising his hands in a placating manner we can use it as a slingshot speak for yourself doug said i wouldn't mind seeing him yeah that will work i made an improvised grenade launcher out of a bra in battle of the wastelands 3. gary jumped in with a little excitement in his voice as he worked the arm loose from his wheelchair again we can tie the ends to this he held it upside down and it was just about perfect sheila saw what they were talking about but was still too busy giving doug her dirtiest look to acknowledge them at the moment he wilted under his desk and mumbled something about looking for that stapler as he headed over to the teacher's desk it only took her a few seconds to slip out of the bra with all of them watching it was like a magic trick one moment she's wearing it the next she was sliding it out from the bottom of her shirt and handing it to gary all three of the boys looked a little perplexed at what just happened but quickly tied either end of the sturdy bra to the ends of the armrest glad you weren't wearing some frilly dainty thing gary said using teeth to pull the knot tight speak for yourself doug started to quip but it quickly died on his lips at the glare from sheila he busied himself looking for anything else that might be slung out of their improvised slingshot and make the noise as it clattered on the concrete jesse opened another window quietly and remove the stops holding it in place so it could be taken out quickly when they needed it they moved a student desk under it so it'd be easier to climb out and place the teacher's big desk under the slingshot window jesse helped gary onto the desk and took his chair and folded it up it was a lightweight modern wheelchair and collapsed in on itself so it was no bigger than the wheels when he was finished last night gary had told him to just leave him behind come back and get him later but they wouldn't hear of it there was no guarantee any of them would make it and even less of a chance they would be able to sneak back over here with a car the school had hundreds of students and they were probably all over the front of the building if he didn't go with them now he would die a slow painful death by thirst locked in the dungeon it would be like never getting off the first level of dungeon crawl besides now he could get those bionic legs from the rehab center make some modifications and be like ripley from aliens become a badass zombie killing machine they were ready or as ready as they were going to be they quietly removed the windows and jesse prepared to slide the chair through the opening as soon as the milling crowd was drawn away by the slingshot distraction sheila stood by ready to help boost gary through doug stretched the bra back bracing the armrest against the block wall with his feet he aimed the best he could shooting for the metal umbrella that was half visible over the picnic table at the edge of the building they all held their breath as he let it go the air filled with flying pens staplers and the empty glass apple juice jar some of the closer zombies started to turn at the twang from the bra being released but their attention was soon diverted by the clatter of breaking glass and the cacophony of metal pelting metal there was a roar from the front of the school and an answering one from those few in the back as they started running towards the noise jesse had the chair out of the opening and followed it in seconds as he was unfolding it doug and sheila had gary through the other window jesse ran the few feet over to them and held the chair steady as gary grabbed it and threw himself in doug placing his feet in the stirrups like they had practiced it only took seconds and then they were running towards the bleachers hoping their movements wouldn't be noticed but they were halfway across the end zone a keening howl went up from under the bleachers someone had been bitten and crawled in there to escape but only managed to die and come back trapped by the crisscrossing bars unable to figure out how to get over or under them they glanced over at her as they ran past it was carly from jesse's biology class she ran at them ignoring the bars and support she kept slamming into they were smashing her face and body but with the sheer intensity that she was slamming into them she was bouncing over or under the bars they ran they had to get to the lake behind them they could hear her crashing into the steel supports her howls never ceasing and with them she brought the rest of the pack if they came at them through the bleachers that would slow them down hopefully enough so they could make it to the woods maybe they could lose them in there jesse ran flat out pushing gary's chair with him helping as much as he could pumping the wheels his hands flying urging them faster sheila was leading she was past the bleachers and running in a sprint across the soccer practice field aiming for the trees jesse chanced to look behind and his blood seemed to freeze there were hundreds of them streaming around the end of the school and the fastest ones were already at the other side of the end zone screaming without stretched arms there were a lot of them getting tangled up in the maze under the bleachers but not enough he couldn't go any faster he was already at 110 percent had it cranked up to 11. sheila was at the edge of the woods disappearing into the gloom with doug only 20 yards behind her jesse was halfway across the soccer field and already scanning the woodline looking for the best entrance his breathing was ragged his thirst nearly unbearable his lungs aching and the stitch in his side was screaming at him he wasn't used to running flat out and rarely ever did so unless he was late for the bus he hoped the woods weren't wall-to-wall kudzu like a lot of the places in georgia were there was no place he could get a wheelchair through it if it were hell you could barely walk through it but they couldn't plan for everything sometimes you had to trust fate he pumped his burning legs one of his old man's stupid sayings popping into his head pain is just weakness leaving the body he spotted where doug and sheila had gone into the gloom and aimed for the same path it looked clear from what he could see not too much undergrowth couldn't see much past the shadows a few feet in and silently cursed them for leaving him behind he shot a look over his shoulder as he entered the dimness the mass of keening undead were clearing the end of the bleachers and charging out onto the soccer field watch out gary yelled and jesse turned around just barely in time to stop before he plowed headlong into a fence sheila and doug were there arms outstretched to pull gary over hurry they said as jesse could do little more than try to get his breath taking in huge gulping lungs full of air he got the chair against the fence and gary was over in a heartbeat doug dragging the chair over next and getting him in it it only took a few seconds and they were off jessie's still panting holding onto the fence come on sheila said and she was chasing after them jesse didn't have to be told twice this fence was a godsend he took one last deep breath then sprung over hitting the ground running he was sure the horde would get through it but it looked fairly sturdy it should hold them back for a few minutes maybe long enough for them to get to the lake jesse quickly caught up with them the chair was difficult to maneuver through the underbrush and around the trees gary was helping to steer and still pumping the wheels as hard as he could but they had slowed a lot doug was already breathing in short ragged breasts when they heard the mass of zombies hit the fence it held the first ones in place their desiccated brains unable to figure out what was stopping them their legs continuing to try to propel themselves forward they kept piling on kept slamming into the simple wire fence within seconds it seemed they had enough weight pushing against it and it went over easily the unfortunate ones in the front being trampled under foot of the rampaging howling horde jesse and sheila had taken each side of the chair and were pulling frantically towards the water as doug still pushed and gary tirelessly spun the wheels with his hands the undergrowth was getting thicker the ground muddier and they could hear the horde crashing through the fence not much farther they panted to each other almost there but then they were faced with a massive fallen pine between them and the water they wasted precious seconds each trying to go in a different direction to get around it with the sounds of the undead crashing through the trees getting louder they saw them coming screaming gnashing classmates arms outstretched and heedless of the branches slapping their faces and whipping across their bodies believe me gary cried out to them in despair just go not a chance jesse gasps forget the chair doug grab his other arm the water is just ahead sheila panted come on come on come on they draped gary's arm over their shoulders and quickly climbed over the fallen tree his feet dragging uselessly behind them they could hear the crashing of the undead behind them close now right at the downed pine a few of the sprinters in front found themselves impaled on the branches but that didn't slow their raging lust their number one priority their need to replicate their numbers to infect the uninfected to spread as fast as possible to as many as possible in any way possible the water was tantalizingly close so close they could see startled turtles slipping back into the depths from downed trees they had been sunning themselves on they could see the ripples of surfacing fish they could see the ducks flap their wings in an effort to speed their flight away from the shores and into deeper water to get away from the screaming and crashing coming from the woods and they could see they would never make it in time the horde was flowing over the downed pine just a few dozen yards behind them and the safety of the lake was a hundred yards in front of them climb jesse bellowed all his tortured lungs could get out but they all caught the meaning and aimed for the nearest trees we throw you go doug said in jagged breaths and gary nodded they barely slowed as they came up to an oak with low hanging branches just shifted their position on gary's arms and tossed him up as high as they could towards the lower limbs there wouldn't be a second chance if he didn't manage to grasp it and pull himself up he would fall and be fell upon but he didn't miss his outstretched arms found the branch and like the ladder bars and climbing wall in the gym that he worked out on he swung his body this way in that pulling reaching every time for a branch a little higher sheila was scrambling up a pine covered in old climbing vines ahead of them and jesse was springing for a low-hanging branch on some tree he didn't recognize a maple probably it didn't matter it only mattered that he was there and he was up it and pulling his feet away from the flailing and grasping arms of his former classmates they slammed into the tree as he climbed screeching and keening jumping and grabbing but too late seconds too late as the winded scraped bruised and thirsty quartet climbed farther out of range the mob howled in fury their rage filled faces upturned seeing their prey so close yet so unattainable jesse found a fork in the tree some 30 feet off the ground and that made for a somewhat decent place to sit and he leaned his head back he spotted the others they had all found similar wide spots in their trees and were catching their breath he let his heartbeat and breathing slowly return to normal it didn't take but a few minutes for the rough bark to get uncomfortable and before long he was squirming trying to find a position that hurt a little less than the one he was in where was an illegal deer stand when he needed one he was so thirsty his lips were chapped and starting to crack the water in the lake only made it worse he could see it sparkling in the sunlight less than a football field away he closed his eyes and pulled some leaves from the tree and put them in his mouth trying to suck any moisture he could out of them how long would that mob stay down below could they outweigh them he didn't know it was up to luck now if something didn't distract them draw them away they can mill down there indefinitely the zombies sure hadn't been in any hurry to leave the school once they had everyone infected just meandered around in aimless circles bumping into things they would wait stay quiet and hope maybe pray chapter 19 the three flags truck stop day two by nine am everyone that wasn't patrolling the perimeter fence or on the roof was in the diner settling in to eat martha and cookie had whipped up another buffet style breakfast and as everyone found their seats cobb started talking he filled them in on everything the general had said that their worst fears were true and the outbreak was global except for the middle east he reiterated that they were in a safe place they could last here for months with what they had on hand and that there are a few trucks that were loaded with food still out in the parking lot they may get tired of winter squash but scratch had twenty thousand pounds of it there were a few other trucks loaded with food but no restaurant deliveries unfortunately that would have given them a diverse menu but the drivers that had volunteered their loads all had bulk items anyone that still wanted to leave was welcome to do so but the diner customers that remained were afraid to try if a semi truck got overwhelmed by the hordes what chance did they have in their cars they hadn't heard from the rigs that left yesterday heading up into the mountains it was anybody's guess if they made it or not gunny and a half dozen other drivers were leaving all of them wanting tommy to reinforce their trucks first there was talk of a supply run especially more ammunition and of course more guns everyone needed to be armed they all agreed to that even the hesitant ones who just a week ago would have said guns should be outlawed and had no clue how to operate one now they saw the need and grizz pack rat and a few others said they could set up a target and training range at the back of the junkyard to teach them shaky wasn't looking too good this morning was adamant about getting to his truck to get some medicine but that wouldn't be a problem he could go with the guys heading out to the parking lot later on cobb drummed up some volunteers who were planning on staying to get busy repairing the old well see if it could be made operational again he organized a cleaning crew to empty out a few of the stores and set up sleeping areas it was easiest just to have separate quarters male and female with the kids staying with their moms for now they would fix up something like small apartments later when they had time gunny had volunteered any of the lumber he was carrying for the task they made plans to get hot rod's truck in one of the mechanics bays so they could unload it of all the moving blankets to make field expedient mattresses they'd bring in the rest of the trucks one at a time to be unloaded of any food stores they had after that the rigs of the few drivers that were planning on staying because they either lived in a big city or had nowhere to go they all wanted to drop their trailers and move the tractors in behind the fence so they could sleep in them everyone had given the general their addresses so he could look at the latest satellite passes in those areas to let them know how it looked but most held no illusions of hope all of the people in cars had come from the cities they were either just passing through or had been out on a day trip to the mountains they were trying to accept that they no longer had a home to go to that this was the new reality of things peanut butter said she'd let all the cattle she had in her bull hauler run loose in the junkyard then volunteered it to be cut up to make blades for the trucks that were leaving aluminum was the perfect material it was lightweight strong and already with plenty of holes for airflow after some discussion they decided to take gunny's truck on a supply run after tommy had welded everything in place use it as a test truck try out the improvements in the real world they would try to get more guns and as much ammunition as possible with their first stop at the police station they hope some of billy travajo's deputies were still safely in the cells they had locked themselves into yesterday johnny had noticed the different clicks starting to form as he and scratch ate in silence from the corner booth the ferrari guy had a small group around him the prius couple and some of the guys from jimmy winchell's band even though he was a lot less caustic now that reality had finally set in he just seemed like a pain in the ass cobb would have to watch him he seemed like the kind of man who would just naturally try to undermine him a glass half empty kind of guy his pretty little blonde girlfriend was smarter than she looked he mused she hadn't gone back to him after that little incident where he tried to sacrifice her just to save himself she sat by herself in one of the corners he really needed to go apologize to her for frightening her so badly tried to remember her name he was sure he'd heard it in passing cassandra tiffany maybe some starlet name one of the drivers would be hitting on her soon she was easily the prettiest girl in the room even without her makeup she wouldn't have a problem finding a protector and she might need one in this brave new world she seemed more of a shopping and nail salon type of girl than one who could handle things on her own hot rod had sat with the gal with the children and he actually had them giggling at some joke he was telling that was good gunny thought he was a stand-up guy and he didn't know that woman's story but she would need someone to watch out for her and the kids lars had volunteered to help with the well said he'd had a little experience with him in south america he was sitting with pack rat and cadillac jack listening intently to whatever jack was saying the old man had been in military intelligence in the 70s and 80s a lot of his knowledge base was pretty outdated but he always had a good tale to tell about the cold war and the russians and the antics they got up to cobb had a good setup here about the best you could ask for they got water flowing the ground wasn't any good for crops but with raised bed gardens and hydroponics they would flourish too bad it was so far away maybe after he got his wife and son they would come back the path would be clear if they wanted to he figured it might take him a week to get there avoiding the big cities and having to probably plow his way through the smaller towns but the trip back would be fairly quick couple of days hot rod had been telling stories of the cannonball run apparently it was a real thing and he had been in one some kind of illegal underground race he said those guys raced cross country and could get from coast to coast in about 30 hours the fastest guy had done it in less than 29 hours gunny knew he wouldn't be making those times in his mad dash across the country but he was going to hammer on it as hard as he could the blonde girl started when gunny stopped at her table and asked if he could sit she looked a little rough up close like she'd been awake all night i just wanted to apologize for yesterday he said i kind of let that go too far and i'm sorry i shouldn't let it get so close he trailed off not knowing what else he could say she stared at him for a minute before she replied i'm not she said i'm glad you did it showed me something it showed me that no one will help no one cares and you're on your own in this world gunny shifted uncomfortably in the booth that wasn't exactly why he'd done it although it rang of truth well he said feeling embarrassed and having a hard time meeting her eyes you weren't really in any danger i wouldn't let it get to you i know that now she said but i didn't yesterday and no one else did either we thought you were a killer gunny grimaced she glanced around the room then continued none of them would lift a finger to help and i was too afraid to help myself i don't blame you or them i play me she pointed a slim manicured finger at her chest i want to learn how to do what you did how not to be afraid of them if you come back with guns today i want one cobb came in and started barking orders and assignments getting everyone busy doing their various tasks threatening the last one out of the diner with trailer decoupling duty in the parking lot chapter 20 it was late afternoon when tommy flipped up his welding helmet and called it done the old pete wound up looking like something out of a post-apocalypse b-movie it started the morning off as a head-turner a 359 peterbilt painted rosewood with black fenders and striping gleaming chrome texas bumper and six inch straight stacks to roll coal it had enough chicken lights to make it pop rolling down the highway at night and polished aluminum steps and fuel tanks a real rooster cruiser she had been a gleaming truck barreling through the night with dozens of amber running lights all lit up a beautiful sight now the steps had been torched off the shining front wheels replaced with butt ugly steel rims and tires from an off-road dump truck and the fenders cut out to make room for them the big texas bumper was gone a rude angled blade made from the cattle trailer was now attached to the front of the truck acting as a radiator guard and a zombie shovel a mesh of rebar had been welded over the windows and windshield and gunny had used every strap and chain he had to secure the remaining lumber after they had unloaded enough for a dozen partitions to be built as small apartments he was going to drop the trailer in the junkyard and bobtail into town on the supply run but when he left in the morning he wanted his wagon he might need the weight because big rigs were notoriously easy to get stuck if they were running empty he'd seen guys get hung up and spinning in a gravel parking lot before cobb was there with nearly everyone else after he dropped the trailer and pulled up to the gate gunny hopped out to see who was going with him grizz had volunteered but cobb said he wanted a full squad at least five guys had to go so they would have a fighting chance if things got dicey outside the truck it was the ranking man cobb barked as he walked up eyeballing them both he is gunny and grizz said at the same time each pointing at each other figured out quick cupcakes we don't need two different people giving orders out there and getting everybody killed in the confusion cobb said crossing his arms and staring at them refusing to take sides i was a private gunny said grizz replied look i got a lot of trigger time under my belt but i was never the boss i didn't make the plans i just carried them out i followed orders i didn't give them hell gunny i was never even a platoon sergeant i'm good at killing not much of anything else you take it gunny hit a sigh and nodded held his free hand up for a fist bump and it was settled they didn't have much ammo between them and when stabby came through the crowd with a new set of claws strapped to his arms gunny was glad he'd seen the kid in action and he was definitely a good man to have on your side lars was right behind him his beretta and extra magazine with him scratch rounded out the quintet with an odd attachment in place of the usual hooks he had at the end of his prosthetic arm it looked like a slim dagger but when gunny reached out to help boost him into the truck the missing steps made it difficult to climb in he noticed it was sharpened rebar nice one he said just be careful picking your nose with that thing scratch tried to take the passenger seat but grizz gave him a shove towards the sleeper as he climbed in with the m4 piss off you skinny bastard he said i make tulia so i'm riding shotgun so he squeezed in between the others who were already sitting on the bunk grumbling about old beardy-ass fat guys picking on the handicapped scratch never played the handicap card around normal people in his mind that's how he saw everyone who wasn't his friend people who would go out of their way to try to help or give him sympathetic looks or just look away unable to even acknowledge him with them he would die before he admitted any weakness of any kind among his brothers though he would do his best to get over on them of course it never worked they didn't see him as a man with a missing arm they just saw him as a man they all got clear from hot rod on the roof and the guys on the gate opened it quickly shutting it almost before they were clear i might as well take out the ones in front first gunny said and swung wide to meet the crowd that had been milling around the entrance of the building as soon as they saw the peak coming around the corner of the diner they all turned and started running towards it arms outstretched the strange keening scream forming on their lips they didn't stand a chance the sharpened blade was about eight inches off the ground and when he hit them most of them left their feet bouncing around under the truck as the rest of their body skidded off of the plow and flew into broken piles on the side of the road they weren't dead again but missing your feet sure could slow a body down they went from a danger will robinson to a watch where you step type of threat gunny downshifted and turned the p towards town following the directions on the gps he didn't know how long they would remain functional none of the cell phone apps worked because it ran directly off of satellites he supposed it would work until they quit orbiting he had no clue if they were self-sufficient or if they needed occasional nudges from computers on earth if that were the case they wouldn't be up there for long he'd have to remember to ask the general about that the sheriff's substation was south of them near silver lake well before the gridlock and massive hoards of reno since they couldn't google gun stores near me they only had some vague directions from cobb and tommy the there's a pawn shop on the main drag near the drugstore type of directions the roads weren't too bad pulling into the small town there were cars stopped haphazardly many with doors open they can envision what happened see it all too clearly in the dried blood the crushed fenders and the few bodies in the ground that had been savaged too badly to reanimate it only took one infected to run out into the morning traffic brakes would slam on traffic would come to a complete stop and people would open their doors and get out to see what the trouble was they would see rampaging mobs attacking everyone biting and ripping then leaping to the next fresh victim leaving a mass of bleeding frightened and angry people in their wake some who panicked and tried to crash their way through some with arterial wounds which bled out and changed within minutes many times with someone trying to help them a whole town dying within hours of the first fried bacon sandwich being eaten once they got off the exit gunny dropped the transmission into low range and started testing the strength of tommy's blade it slid the cars away effortlessly the old pete not straining it all neatly shunting them to the side of the road ah not that one scratch said as gunny crunched into a beautiful zr1 corvette cracking the fiberglass large pieces breaking off as he pushed it out of the way dude i would have totally drove that back to the truck stop i just thought about it but he's right chris said we can have any call we want hell anything we want it's all there for the taken hell's yeah scratch said where's the nearest ferrari dealer a monster truck for me stabby threw in as gunny negotiated around the last of the pileup at the intersection and hit a stretch of clear road 1971 el dorado just like in superfly lars said they all looked at him what brother can't have a cadillac he asked man i grew up watching old movies moms wouldn't let me out of the house in our neighborhood i love that pimp mobile can you dig it gunny ass in the best young blood priest voice he could manage give it up homie lars laughed what about you grizz scratch asked what's on your bucket list of cars grizz smiled as he answered his shiny teeth showing through his beard i'm getting a 1969 hemi charger with a four speed man i've always loved those cars amid the chorus of ooh nice one and good choice stabby directed his question to gunny what about you mate what's your driving pleasure i'm gonna get the batmobile he replied there was an eruption of laughter with questions of which one which started an argument of which one was the best the tumblr one hands down is most practical but there was good debate on which was the coolest the original from the tv show the michael keaton or the val kilmer the george clooney batmobile was cool but was there even a working version of it grizz and gunny let the kids battle that one out and went back to concentrating on their primary mission the substation was only another half mile and they started looking for it and the pawn shop that was supposed to have a large selection of guns and ammunition they had only seen a few zombies moving around but every one of them had started following the noise of the truck letting out those eerie breathless screams to alert others of the promise of fresh meat gunny slowed as they approached the police station it was on their left and there wasn't a big crowd around it but there were a few milling about until they heard or felt the big truck coming they turned to attack it running at full speed directly towards them keening and clawing the air i'm gonna make a pass maybe two but there's a bunch following us now i'll try to get far enough ahead of them and flip around and whittle their numbers down it was go time now then everyone got serious and quiet as gunny started working his way up through the gears cutting a few down leaving the rest of the screaming horde behind he got about a quarter mile up the road swung into a gas station to get turned around then headed straight for the mob of at least a hundred running up main street where did they all come from laura's asked to no one in particular like a swarm like ants they didn't hear the rest of his thought because the first of them had started being cut down with the plow the sheer numbers of them caused the big cat under the hood to strain and he split a gear and hammered down slicing through the middle of the pack he was snapping bones like toothpicks severing feet and hands and arms and anything else that came in contact with the sharp and lower blade the rest of their bodies were breaking and being tossed aside at 45 miles per hour the truck shuttered and jounced when the big front tires rolled over one of the infected who had missed the blade but was crushed by the rolling rubber you're gonna have to build a deflector so they don't roll under the tires grizz yelled over the noise of the screams and impact of flesh a few more bodies were crushed under the tires and the truck bounced the three men sitting on the bunk back and forth as they tried not to stab each other with the assorted weapons strapped to their arms they finally cleared the small horde and gunny went another half mile taking out stragglers who had been too slow to participate in the mass slaughter when he turned the truck around gore and bloodspatter covering the front half of his hood and fenders they could see the full impact of what just one pass to a hoard of them had done there were body parts everywhere there were no standing zombies left just a wreck of crawling bodies all with missing feet are shattered lower legs most with more broken and mangled bones sticking out at unnatural angles gunny drove slowly over them the big front tires turning them into bloody paste as they were ground under the blade he stopped in front of the doors of the substation and before they climbed out he and grizz turned to check on the younger members of their group it wasn't meant as disrespect in any way just a habit ingrained by years of service check your troops gear then check your own scratch and stabby look similar in their appearance both clad and leather shirts and pants they liberated from the costumes on the brutal retort bus all of them wore gloves the new blades they had made were intimidating gunny realized now why he hadn't seen either one of them all day they had been creating the stabbing arsenal they now wore scratch noticed them staring at his leather pants but got him from him he cocked his head towards his new british pal and he helped me design my blade oi stabby said i learned last night that thick blade just gets stuck in the bones and snaps off when you poke those wankers you need slender sharp and strong like this rebar it won't break like my blades did gunny nodded they looked wicked deadly no beauty in them just total function scratch had a single long piece of sharpened rebar attached to his metal arm and they had welded a small hook right about where his forearm should be it took gunny a second but then realized it was a crude barrel lock for the ar it would hold the gun steady and alleviate muzzle rise his other arm had an aluminum and steel fingerless gauntlet of sorts with short spikes sticking a few inches beyond his knuckles it left his shooting hand free to operate his rifle and the spikes were short enough not to interfere with reloading stabby had both forearms wrapped in thick leather with three sharpened rods sticking out like wolverine claws on each he also had a clunky looking pair of knuckle dusters that had short bits of sharpened rebar welded to them backup weapon scratch showed him his pair this is still a work in progress but we should see how well they work today make some improvements if we need to gunny was impressed grizz too i might need a pair of those so don't go getting yourselves killed he said trying not to mate the crawlers were getting close to them still intent on sinking their teeth into human flesh as he and grizz opened the doors to hop out the other three were right behind them ammo was in short supply so they didn't waste any as they ran for the doors that were propped open by a bullet riddled body he and grizz entered first breaking left and right scanning the room looking for any of the undead it was an open floor plan typical of a quiet sheriff's substation some desks a few glassed in officers in the back a hallway leading towards the restrooms in the back entrance a stairway and elevator leading to the basement and the other two stories above them clear said gunny clear grizz said a second later lars kicked the body down the stone stairs outside the building and pulled the doors shut behind them lars hold here scratch and stabby find us another exit clear as you go grizz with me gunny said and headed toward the entrance to the lower level the cells below were well marked with a sign over the stout metal door that led down the stairs he stood to one side and nodded the grizz who quickly opened it and stepped back pulling the m4 tight to his shoulder he covered the high area and gunny swung around the door in a crouch covering the low they could see the stairs leading down into the darkness but not much else electricity is already out you wondered i thought it took a few days judging from all the bullet holes i'd say somebody hit the breaker box frizz said gunny yelled out hey anybody home down there instantly they heard a snarl of the undead and the sounds of running feet but also the cries of a few people yelling back up at them yes we're here watch out they're coming for you get ready on the door i'll take them out gunny said and stood up and stepped far enough away so grizz could slam it shut if there were too many of them for him to shoot grizz let the m4 dangle on its sling and grab the heavy door with both hands his shoulder against it ready to slam it as soon as he started to hear gunny utter the words they could hear them coming out of the dark snarling and keening scrabbling on the steps tripping over each other in their haste how many gunny yelled down into the blackness of the basement there's four of them in the reply and he readied himself he needed four head shots on moving targets coming up at an angle out of the dark 15 rounds no problem as soon as he saw the first one coming up the stairs using its hands and feet bounding as fast as it could he started double tapping boom boom it hesitated bounced off the handrail rocked by at least one of the bullets boom boom the second set exploded its skull it dropped instantly and started bouncing back down the stairs tripping up the others as they clawed and scrambled over the now lifeless form boom boom another fell gunny waited for the others to pick themselves up from being tumbled they didn't sound like they were moving so fast maybe they busted a leg or something in the fall can only hope his eyes were getting used to staring into the inky blackness of the basement and he saw one coming hopping in a broken way from step to step boom boom both in the head gore and bone splattered against the face of the fourth who didn't slow down at all as she leaped over the falling body boom boom blood exploded out of the side of her neck and shoulder boom boom her head snapped back at a vicious angle and she crumpled to the stairs finally dead 12 shots for four stiffs he heard scratch call out weak sauce gunny swapped magazines for a fully loaded one and re-holstered his glock get out of the women's bathroom and find us an exit gunny yelled back lars he asked how's it looking half dozen crawlers at the door few dozen runners making their way up the stairs anybody have a flashlight gunny asked but when he turned to look back down the stairs he noticed a single light beam dancing across the stairwell wall heard the sound of hurrying footsteps and the chorus of don't shoot it's us are we glad to see you the female deputy said as she came through the door but stopped short when she saw they weren't police officers just a couple of hard looking men with beards and guns who are you she asked her hands automatically dropping to the butt of the gun she still wore its holster gunny and grizz just looked at her it was empty they knew it was empty and she knew they knew it was empty so she let her hand fall away hey billy sent us gunny said we need guns and ammo you have access to the arms room there's no arms here just a cabinet the other two from the cells stood behind her one a young man in a sheriff's deputy uniform the other a tattooed woman in dirty jeans and tangled hair billy didn't send you she said and started edging towards the desks probably where she kept a spare gun or at least a loaded magazine the back's clear yelled scratch but it's the only other way out so let's not dick around till it gets jammed up the runners had reached the top of the steps and were throwing themselves at the doors shuddering them in their frames the quiet screaming of all the infected ratcheted up a notch as they came closer to their prey gunny saw the look of fear and determination flit across the deputy's face when she heard scratch's voice he realized she had been out of contact with everyone since they had fled into the cell that none of them had a walkie-talkie and she had no idea how bad things really were in her eyes they looked like some wild desperados waving guns around in her police station he made a snap decision to level with her they didn't have time to mess around you're right he said billy didn't send us he's dead but we heard your last transmissions on his radio and we came to try to get you out we need guns and we need ammunition i don't have time to explain everything right now so we're leaving come with us or stay here it doesn't matter we gotta go if you wanna join us later we're at the three flags with that he said let's roll and him grizz and lars took off for the back doors wait for me the woman with the dirty clothes said and ran after them the two cops didn't have to consider the situation for long and yelled for them to wait come help carry the guns and ammo there wasn't a lot it wasn't like the sleepy little outpost had a swat team with a bunch of exotic hardware but there were a dozen pump shotguns and another half dozen handguns that hadn't been assigned all of them glock 17s as the two deputies quickly reloaded their service weapons grizz and gunny stuffed everything into the duffels that were at the bottom of the locker they split the boxes of ammunition between the bags so they wouldn't be so heavy and ran for the back exit the sturdy front entrance doors were still holding but the onslaught was relentless and they wouldn't last much longer runners coming in scratch said as he flung open the doors and they hurried down the steps grizz stopped halfway down aimed and dropped both of them before hustling to catch up keeping the group tight the two cops carrying the duffles and the other woman in the center what are you driving the deputy yelled a little breathlessly as they rounded the corner but could have saved his breath the blood and gore spattered semi-truck with the vicious looking plow welded to the front was in the middle of the street it stood as a bloody testament to its efficiency there were hundreds of crawling zombies slowly trying to make their way towards the police station on broken and shattered limbs it was pretty obvious what they were driving a stabbing scratch clear us a path to the truck gunny said the two took off at a sprint towards a semi not really clearing but certainly killing a path to it the feetless and broken zombies were moaning and reaching for them without stretched arms teeth gnashing they found themselves with pus oozing holes in their heads as the boys ran through them hacking and stabbing brutal sharp points were poking little holes of death nearly as fast as they ran both arms swinging and slashing they made short work of the crawlers until soon every dead thing between them and the truck was truly dead grizz stood guard m4 occasionally barking out a death warrant as they all clamored inside and found room for the bags of guns under the bunk go gunny said and he and grizz jumped in and slammed the doors elbows reaching back to hit the locks without thinking which way to the pawn shop gunny asked firing up the big kitty and aiming for as many debtors as he could manage as he took off bumping and crushing over them back the other way on the left right across from the kfc the woman said that gunny figured was probably a prisoner in one of the cells before all this started happening got it he yelled back over the noise of the winding engine i'm gunny that's grizz he pointed to the bearded man between shifting gears back there with you as lars scratch and stabby stabby stuck out his hand to shake and nearly impaled the deputy whoops sorry he said his scratch and lars laughed it's fine the lady deputy said as she checked her arm making sure there were no cuts on it i'm deputy collins and this is deputy mcbride and the young lady is miss cruz everybody just calls me bunny the little hispanic woman chimed in happy to be out of her cage and away from the infected that had kept them trapped gunny gave them a very condensed version of what they knew about the world and what was happening as he swung the truck around again and headed back towards the pawn shop scratch and stabby jumped in occasionally to add a tidbit of depressing information again he plowed into as many of the infected as he could the blade flinging them off into mangled heaps he spotted the colonel's house of deep fried chicken and then saw the pawn shop across the street wide sidewalk no telephone or lamp post in front of it no cars parked there canvas awning about eight feet high over the entrance burglar bars on the windows and door he swung wide and bounced up on the sidewalk the oversized tires taking it all in stride to a chorus of what are you doing and oh and stabby yelling out like a cowboy at a rodeo he drove the blade into the gated doors and they crumbled and tore loose like balsa wood deputy collins was yelling something about illegal and can't do that and destroying property but gunny just do it in reverse and backed out onto the road a snarling clawing undead thing coming out of the destroyed door after him maybe the quick version of world events these past two days that he had given her hadn't sunk in yet hey scratch you got this he asked and scratch leaned over to the sleeper door and opened it here's zombie zombie zombie he said and when the thing saw him and came running up it got a six inch long spike to its forehead yeah that's nasty bunny said but she didn't look like she was going to be sick like deputy mcbride did gunny and grizz were already out of their doors by the time the thing collapsed on the ground and were hustling for the now wide open front of the store grizz stood guard near the entrance scanning both ways m4 ready at his shoulder they were lucky the zombie scratch had just killed was the proprietor and he had already opened the safe and was setting out his merchandise he had a lot of guns most of them hunting rifles and junky off-brands but there were a few nice ones they made a fireman's chain and started handing them off filling up the area beneath the bunk with all manner of firearms pistols and any ammunition they could find grizz urging them to hurry as they grabbed the last of the hardware and grizz was giving them warning that the crawlers were getting close lars smashed a glass case with the butt of his beretta and grabbed a pair of fancy sunglasses we need another gun out here griz yelled and popped off a few shots taking out the closest of the crawlers we ain't got time for fashion accessories these are genuine purse halls man lars yelled back putting them on as he slipped outside and took up a defensive position across the door from grizz steve mcqueen wore these he dropped to a knee and took out a runner but there were more coming and they were starting their keening screams he started popping off shots his pistol barking an answer the rest all ran for the entrance with the last of the guns and started jumping back up into the truck the runners were getting close as the last of them finally climbed aboard and slammed the doors in his rush to get back inside the cab gunny slipped on the battery box and barked his chin on the serrated metal step on top of it letting out a roar of pain and a blue streak of obscenities that would have made a merchant marine with tourette's blush when he finally finished cussing tommy for torching off his lower step and got it in gear and rolling again he heard lars and scratch quibbling over money eighty seven dollars scratch insisted no definitely 84 lars came right back gunny was rocking in a seat grimacing and white knuckling the steering wheel his shin still screaming in pain at him he could feel the blood soaking a sock from the shredded skin get really flated up good what the are they bitching about he grunted to grizz his face contorted tears still rolling down his cheeks finally getting his breath back graves didn't answer he was breathing hard sounded like he was choking and gunny looked over thinking maybe he was hurt too but it was obvious from the look on his reddening face he was trying his best not to burst out laughing trying to hold it in one hand covering his mouth how much money you owe kim scratch braid barely getting the words out before he fell into a heap of helpless laughter all y'all gunny muttered back to still more snickers and giggles the pent-up tensions and fear falling away in the boy's contagious laughter as everyone joined in chapter 21 the sun was just setting when grizz radioed they were coming in and the gate was opened as they approached gunny pulled the rig in aiming for the bay doors he wanted tommy to make a few improvements like putting his steps back on if a zombie had enough coordination to climb up on it he'd just have to shoot it in the face it was too much hassle to try to climb up into the cab without something to stand on sarah and stacy were there with orders for everyone to start stripping down to their skivvies modesty be damned bunny didn't seem to mind but deputy collins insisted on a modicum of privacy and they relented taking her and bunny inside to the ladies room when they had finished checking out the guys for bites cobb was pleased with the hall they made and got a crew carrying everything in to be inventoried cleaned tested and divvied up to anyone needing a weapon gunny laid claim to a nice short barrel m4 that was equipped with a couple of tasteful add-ons and a few boxes of ammo for it and his glock before it all got carted away he got dressed again and checked with tommy to let him know how the battlements held up and what things needed to be improved upon there were a half dozen trucks in the rear yard already being up armored and looking ready for anything they're going quick once we knew what to do got an assembly line started tommy said by way of explanation when gunny expressed a bit of amazement on how fast he churned them out he still wanted to leave at first light hopefully the general would have some information about atlanta from his satellites they were all supposed to be on the channel at 2200 hours he had time to get a deflector for his left fender welded up a step put back on and grab a shower maybe see if martha or cookie had any leftovers that were still warm he also needed to find out who all was planning on running with him he hoped it wouldn't be a bunch too many guys just slowed things down but three or four trucks headed east would be nice he still needed to stop by an rv dealer or find an rv on the side of the road to snag the water pump from they all had little 12-volt pumps to operate the water for the sink and toilet he figured he could use it to refuel along the way maybe use three or four at the same time it might take a while but it was better than a mouthful of diesel every time with a siphon hose by the time he and tommy had welded up a deflector for his front tires and he'd gotten a shower it was going on nine o'clock another hour till the general came on so he headed to the diner to find some food nearly everyone was there and stabby was regaling them with tales of horror and glory of their afternoon's experience he was exaggerating quite a bit with scratch and lars jumping in from time to time when stabby wasn't eloquent enough in describing the wastelands beyond the gates of the truck stop gunny stepped up beside grizz hot rod and a few of the others listening for a moment it was quite entertaining to watch them stabby was a natural showman with scratch and lars acting it all out with exaggerated motions sound effects and facial expressions got us some real shakespeare's here grizz said with a grin apparently i took out a whole horde with just my kbar more like the three stooges deputy collins opined sourly her role in this impromptu three-man show had been only that of a damsel in distress she had been rescued by the dashing heroes who risked life and limb cutting through countless zombies to save the ladies as the story finished with a gallant gunny driving over a mostly destroyed bridge with exploding cars sending up great walls of flame all the while shooting zombies off the hood one-handed the small crowd applauded and miss bunny crews ran up and kissed them all proclaiming my heroes grizz and gunny were laughing out loud and applauding with the rest nobody's gonna believe all that tripe deputy collins grumbled but she too had a smile on her face and clapped along with everyone else i didn't say it before but thank you for pulling us out of there she said looking each of them in the eye no worries ma'am just doing a job grizz grinded her she almost smiled back gunny headed over to the buffet area to see what was left but hollered before it got too loud i'm rolling east at first light you guys that want a convoy come see me let's figure out a route chapter 22 wirebender had run some comms wire along the toy train tracks and through the walls so he could put a speaker in the dining room everyone couldn't fit in his cb shop and he was really uncomfortable having so many people hanging out there all the time now hoping to hear a snippet of news as everyone in the diner quieted down in anticipation when the first of the hams around the world started checking in gunny headed over to the cb shop he needed to ask the general about atlanta and he figured they owed him something he had given them the answer to what caused this whole pandemic of death he heard the germans confirmed they were on the air as he walked in and nodded to wirebender grizz and cobb they had us go up to a different frequency wirebender was telling cobb they say this one's secure unauthorized radios can't listen in i didn't know you could do that with open-air comms gunny said i can't wirebender replied they're the government they can do a lot of things with military-grade transceivers there's a bunch of hams from all over the world listening in and i guess they're using narrow band and repeaters maybe even satellite bounce gunny didn't ask what any of that meant he was just happy to hear there were more groups of people being found it was an unusual symbiotic relationship between the remaining powers the russians had little more than nukes and secure video feeds into most locations within their borders and satellite countries the chinese had the best medical and scientific laboratories still operational the germans had a pretty good overview of europe and still had control of their drones the americans had full satellite imaging capabilities and access to the massive nsa databases with mutual cooperation they had a pretty good picture of the world and had been in communication with each other on secure channels continuously these past 24 hours they had all tried every broadcast option available that was still operable to reach the civilian populations about the cause of the disease and how to take precautions but it was too little too late they each in turn gave a quick synopsis of what they had learned and in the end it was far worse than anybody had even imagined the german captain was the highest ranking officer on land although the ships at sea had officers well above his grade he reiterated what everyone already knew they had sent drones over most of the major cities and most of them were on fire there were survivors on rooftops and enclaves of people that had barricaded themselves in at various locations surrounded by thousands of undead trying to get to them all they could do was watch and report they had no way of rescuing them although every ship they had at sea was heading back towards land there was a chance of using helicopters to aid some but that was just a drop in the bucket general fang broke down what his scientists had been able to determine and what it boiled down to was the infected were indeed dead no cure possible the super soldier serum which removed all inhibitions and fear and had clotting agents powerful enough to stop arterial bleeding had been radically altered with experimental nanotech and crossed with animal dna for a more predatory and aggressive disease they believed the nanotech with its molecular self-assembly is what kept the dead from lying down and being dead chemical components of pcp had been added for inhuman strength and apparently so had a virus-like molecular level command to reproduce to make more of them to replicate duplicate populate to bite and infect as many humans as they could they didn't seem to need food and they didn't particularly try to kill just bite and move on to the next victim but given enough of them attacking someone all of them wired to reproduce the only way possible through saliva people caught up in the mobs of them were usually damaged too badly to reanimate the blood was dead contact with it didn't spread contagion it passed from the host only from bites or saliva contamination the head and brain were essentially the only thing still alive the rest of the body was dead and decaying although at a much slower rate than normal this was due to the introduction of the nanotech assemblies they would continually repair the flesh and bones but in an ever-increasing degraded rate as there was less and less clean material to work with from all this the conclusion was that the zombies were not indestructible or immortal they wouldn't last forever in their best estimates an undamaged infected would deteriorate to the point of being non-viable in about five years maybe longer if it wasn't exposed to extreme temperatures and harsh conditions but these were just guesses the tests they had thus far been able to run had widely varying results the russians reiterated what the germans had said about europe they didn't have drones available but through extensive fiber optic networks and redundant solar power battery backups they had eyes through most of the governmental cameras throughout the eastern european countries their traffic and surveillance cameras told the same story in every city some that had minimal infestation yesterday had been overrun 24 hours later they finished up with pronouncing that they in target coordination with the chinese were ready to destroy every major and minor city in every territory that the satellite imagery had shown to be prepared before the outbreak started scorched earth nuclear and conventional weapons would be deployed pounding any survivors back into the stone age and irradiated wasteland the world was a bleeding broken zombie-infested mess with an estimated 4 billion dead in just 48 hours then came general carson's turn to share all the bad news they had managed to uncover over the past 24 hours they determined hawaii was overrun like the rest of the states hard to know about the smaller islands though logic would suggest they shouldn't have been infected the few navy ships that had managed to contain the outbreak had orders to check out some of the smaller sustainable islands and were in route but all it took was one person to annihilate a city in a matter of hours with the rate of the disease spread the designated survivor from the president's cabinet hadn't been found there was always supposed to be one person who was eligible to take over in a worst-case scenario but whoever it had been on the day of the outbreak hadn't made contact gunny rolled his eyes who cares who's in charge there's nobody left to rule they only had sporadic contact with a few ham radio operators in south america most of them were in remote areas at weather stations or logging operations in the jungles from the satellite photos though they could see clouds of smoke billowing from the cities during the days and blackness where there used to be lights at night they hadn't had a lot of time to dig through the nsa's files pertaining to meat packaging business acquisitions but once they knew what to look for the evidence piled up fast the salaam company had either purchased outright or made hostile takeovers of nearly every meat packaging plant in the world the expense was staggering but most of it hadn't even been paid the funds promised but never delivered the lawyers had already been fighting it in the courts as an unjust monopoly but the muslims didn't care about that they knew it would never get past the posturing and filing of papers before all of the infidels were dead the shortage of meat of all kinds last week had been intentional so there would be a run on the supermarkets when they started deliveries again with the tainted products there had been a lot of fda inspectors killed this past week but everything happened so quickly the fbi hadn't picked up on the significance of it from all the scattered reports from the different police departments no one had connected the dots the general didn't have any direct knowledge of the same thing happening in other countries but surmised it was much the same everywhere he told everyone listening that most of the following information he had was only a known factor in the united states but it stood to reason the same plan had been followed worldwide it had been a huge operation involving thousands of people and nothing could have enticed so many to keep such a terrible secret nothing except a belief that they were doing the right thing they were heroes ushering in a world islamic caliphate there was a pause a rattling of papers a brief exchange between the general and someone else there with him and then he started again there's no sugar coating this he said most of our techs here have been working a theory from a pattern we noticed and we think we may have conclusive evidence now with the latest thermal pass from our birds we've convinced our counterparts not to lay waste to the middle east just yet waiting on the confirmation i just received he paused for another moment probably speed reading whatever had been given to him we have known about the nuclear power plants being in danger of melting down as soon as the electricity goes off completely he continued a scenario like this was never envisioned or planned for and there is nothing we can do except tell the survivors where the safest places are to go we've taken into consideration the expected run time left with the reserve fuel supplies and automatic generators kicking in as soon as grid power goes down there are some hydroelectric powered stations but most run on cold we've been working on computer models of prevailing winds shifting jet streams amounts of rainfall in short we've been working diligently to determine the safest place for everyone to go and how long you have to get there in a worst case scenario gunny could hear groans and angry words from the dining room cobb just grimaced i hadn't even thought about that he said i wonder how long the dams will last gunny asked i'd hate to be below the hoover when it goes general carson started speaking again probably mindful of the uproar he had just caused but plowing on anyway right now our greatest concern is the reactors melting down when the generators run out of fuel when this happens there will no longer be any water flowing over the nuclear rods to cool them they will boil off the water in their tanks and start melting through the concrete floors there are 100 active reactors in the united states and 185 in europe so there will be nearly 300 fukushima type meltdowns spreading radioactivity everywhere the wind blows at every radio listening in around the world it was quiet translators quickly explained what the american general had said everyone was speechless as it sunk in it didn't matter if they survived the zombies they would all die of radiation poisoning an unseen enemy that you couldn't fight air would start to fall out your teeth bleeding gums open sores death gunny waited for him to continue his mind racing he said there were safe areas where the winds wouldn't carry the radiation he had to find out where and then get on the road to get his family they were smart he knew his wife was alive and if she had survived the initial onslaught of the dead she would stay alive that's what killed everyone so quickly the speed of it happening the surprise of trying to render aid and then being attacked not knowing your enemy but she had lived long enough to figure it out she was a tough one she'd shrugged off the difficulty of all those years of military separations raising their son by herself she camped and hiked and shot a gun as well as anybody she was fit and she was savvy once a person lived through the first hour of the outbreak they knew what they were up against knew not to run in to try to help a co-worker who was having their face ripped off if you were unarmed knew not to get bit and knew as someone you were with did have a bite mark that they would become one of the undead she had survived he knew it if he went in with enough firepower he could blast his way all the way up to the roof and get them out he was rolling at first light grab a bag of coffee to dip like tobacco and hammer down until he got there maybe see if any of the drivers had a few california turnarounds they could spare that would keep him awake for however long it took remember to grab a pack of smokes too not that he liked smoking store-bought cigarettes he hadn't had any in years but they made a great alarm clock if your body absolutely had to take a nap a lit cigarette stuck between your ring and pinky fingers would burn for about 10 minutes and then wake you up when the cherries started burning your skin you simply did not sleep through that alarm no matter how tired you were too late now but he should have stopped at an auto parts store while they were out and grabbed a bunch of off-road lights to add to his rig maybe tomorrow then it would be easier to drive at night light up the road for a mile with some super bright halogens he stopped his rambling thoughts as the general came back on that is the worst case scenario he repeated it isn't necessarily that dire with this newest set of prints from the last flyover that happened just minutes ago we've confirmed a silver lining in this disaster i'll lay this out briefly so you understand how important it is for any of you out there not to take matters into your own hands and attack any mosques we know this plan of theirs has been in the making for years the purchase of the meat packing plants the defenses in place to throw up overnight in the middle east the placing of many muslims in high ranking positions and all the governments all around the world the call for all muslims to go to mecca this year and the list goes on the data was there no one saw it by going through the nsa data visas issued there has been an inordinate amount of nuclear scientists and students flooding into the states over the past month by checking shipping and purchase records every mosque in america has been quietly fortifying itself with massive amounts of food we confirm tonight that those same mosques are all up and running none have been overrun by the dead and in their parking lots they have similar heavy-duty equipment that some of you near reno have built except the trailers they are pulling appear to be modified tankers with external refrigeration units attached to them we have no records indicating they are heavily armed but our guess would be yes they have been gearing up for this for a while and from what we can determine they are planning on removing the radioactive rods from the power plants we don't know what they're going to do with them but if they plan this far in advance i'm pretty sure they have a safe disposal site picked out so that's the good news our conquerors plan on saving the land for themselves not leaving it uninhabitable for a thousand years cobb spat on the floor gunny felt the same that word conquerors didn't sit well this is why there's been no retaliation the general continued we must let them think they've won that we are powerless we must let them finish their plan of shutting down all the nuclear power plants before we engage because frankly gentlemen if they don't do it it won't get done we can't determine if any of the european mosques have laid up supplies but our guess is yes we could see large tanker trucks near all of them so we would assume the same plan is being carried out there don't know if i can do it grid said his fist clenched i'd be hard-pressed to drive by a and not put a few rounds in him the general went on for a few more minutes detailing more of what they knew but it basically boiled down to leave any muslims you may see alone do not interfere let them decommission the power plants first then we would do our best to annihilate them after the big news the general told the rest of the world they should go to the european the russian or the chinese channel whichever one was the closest to them they had all been working on computer simulations for their areas and would share any more information they had about safe locations he was going to spend some time with the north american groups he was in contact with relay what little bit of information he had that affected them directly when he finally got around to answering questions from the three flags group making them wait until last gunny found out that the satellites hadn't picked up anything from the roof of the hartwell tower or any sign of live people at the high school the general said the gps units would work for another five to ten years as those satellites were in high orbit but the spy satellites would all be down in 18 to 24 months that's how long they had an eye in the sky by then if the chinese guys were right most of the zombies wouldn't be so agile and fast that they could start rebuilding instead of hiding out and surviving he'd rather fight some shambling thing any day over a raging monster twice as strong and fast as him he'd also learned that just going by rough estimates there were a lot more people in the world than just the handful on the ham radios for the few hundred or so they had been in communications with they figured there were at least another ten thousand the computers had spotted from the flyovers once they started them searching for certain parameters as the last of them at the three flags that had given cheyenne mountain an address to check on finish their questions and headed back to the dining room wirebender said that's the last sir when gunny got ready to leave cobb told him to wait there was more gunny looked at him quizzically but the old man's gnarled face gave nothing away take it down to the secondary channel sergeant kowalski came the general's curt reply as he adjusted the dials with his left hand he slid the microphone over the counter towards gunny sergeant meadows do you copy his voice came back gunny sighed now what still wanting to know why i got kicked out still think i know more about the muslims plan private meadows here sir he replied is the room secure came the general's query what gunny glanced around just cobb and wire bender were left first sergeant cobb and sergeant kowalski are present he replied unintentionally dropping his smart ass attitude and falling back into his military bearing at the unusual question he heard the tail end of a heavy sigh as the general came back on when he started talking again he didn't sound like his professional unflappable self didn't sound like a general in the army who was always in control who always knew the answers he sounded like an exhausted man who had watched this country and the world fall apart in the last two days he sounded like a man who had been run ragged trying to gather all of the information he had just spent the last few hours disseminating a man utterly worn out from trying to help the only survivors in the world they were in contact with gunny wondered if he had slept at all in the last 48 hours then felt like an ass for giving him a hard time he needed to lighten up this guy wasn't the enemy and he was going above and beyond to help everyone sergeant meadows he began i don't even know where to start so i'm gonna just ask you a few questions so we can ascertain a few things it may not make much sense at first but it's important so i ask you to bear with me i would appreciate sincerity in your answers well that was a polite way of telling him to stop being a smart ass gunny looked up at the clock it was going on midnight he wanted to leave in a few hours and needed to get some sleep yes sir i'll do my best here it comes he thought why did you get booted from the service what the hell did it matter now to this guy he wondered if he thought he was going to draft him back into active duty have him running around doing rescue missions of vips or something he had another thing coming he was still trying to figure out what his angle was when the general asks are you familiar with the order of presidential secession well that came out of that field uh sort of he replied racking his brain trying to recall high school government classes it goes to the vice president then the speaker of the house then to the senior cabinet members i think right the general said and if all cabinet members are presumed dead including the designated survivor what was all this about what did his opinion on anything matter he was a disgraced soldier and now just a truck driver i don't know sir i guess the highest ranking military officer was this guy making a play at becoming president was he actually campaigning for votes and really why didn't it matter who cares who the president is president of what 300 million dead people cobb and wirebender both had big grins plastered all over their mugs and gunny knew the joke was on him but hadn't figured out what it was yet no son the general replied it has to go to an elected official a person that holds or has held public office the constitution is clear on the separation of powers and the commander in chief has to be a duly elected civilian if a military man just decides to take over because there's an absence of power that would make this country no better than some third world banana republic the succession of power starts at the vice president and then goes all the way down to the lowliest dog catcher in the smallest municipality the one requirement other than being of age and a natural born citizen is that they are a public official chosen to hold office and elected to that office by their peers gunny waited for more not knowing what to say he'd never held public office so the general wasn't hinting at him to be president that was laughable when he didn't reply the general went on out of every name i have of every known living citizen in the united states you are the only one that has ever held public office you by the best guesses of everyone here at norad are the only person left alive who is legally qualified to be president gunny said i appreciate the offer but i've never held any kind of office i think you have the wrong guy it's not an offer sergeant it's your duty you swore an oath to the constitution when you raised your right hand to join the service that oath didn't end when you got out weren't you on the greater woodland school district board he asked gunny racked his brain for a minute before remembering yeah but that was just a fluke one of the board members moved out of state and they needed to fill in until the next election my wife was there for a pta meeting and volunteered me as a joke since i was the only name presented they told her i was it nobody wanted that job i never even went to a single meeting that doesn't matter general carson came back it is an elected position you were duly assigned a role in local politics as near as we can determine you are the next in line for the presidency is this a joke gunny asked incredulously cobb and wirebender both were quietly laughing knowing would have been coming as they had discussed this with norad earlier in the day no sergeant it is not came the reply starting to sound annoyed you do of course have the right to refuse but keep in mind you're the only eligible person for the job that we've been able to find anybody could take over claim to be president but it wouldn't be lawful and that would make the united states as we have known her for over 240 years null and void someone is going to be in charge and as we start to recover from this there needs to be a clear and undisputed lawful leader if not any jumped up warlord can claim he's the president the king the emperor or the grand poobah the general was starting to get worked up and was becoming more forceful essentially this country will no longer exist and we will become another defeated state that has passed on into history they will have won the continuity of government is important sergeant the longest america has ever been without a president before this was when jfk was killed it took 99 minutes before vice president johnson could be sworn in aboard air force one we haven't had word of the president or any cabinet members for almost 42 hours and we know they were all at the friendship breakfast the salam corporation had sponsored this country does not exist without a government without a president the general was really getting passionate starting to sound more like a pissed off first sergeant so if you refuse the job this nation as we have known it is over admiral harris will assume the position as commander-in-chief but the old america is defeated but we will be starting a new one gunny didn't know what to say this wasn't right dumping this on him and then throwing a guilt trip on top of it it all seemed so pedantic so unnecessary he wasn't a politician he didn't want the job he didn't know jack's squad about how to be the leader of a nation hell he could barely take care of himself besides what did it matter there were only a few thousand survivors left it would be a hundred years before there were enough people to care about electing someone for office seemed like a waste of energy to even think about it there were so much more important things to be worried about cobb was serious all of a sudden gunny he said you've got to do it it's just for show it's only on paper it keeps this country a country not just a bunch of enclaves trying to do what's best for themselves if you don't then goat humping bastards won the war he's right wirebender said it doesn't change anything man just named general carson as your vison let him do all the heavy lifting i can do that gunny asked his mind racing trying to find a way out of a bunch of responsibility he didn't want to shoulder the last time he had people depending on him they all wound up dead you can do anything man you're the prez wire bender replied can find out what's in area 51 or if we really landed on the moon you can even order them to help you save your old lady and your kid it's only for a year election is next november besides if they do find someone else a mayor or something hub said you can resign let him take over sergeant meadows general carson said yes gunny replied almost instantly hitting the press to talk button grasping at wirebender's last words before he could come to his senses and change his mind before he could tell them to keep looking surely they had missed somebody i'll take the job and i'm naming you as vice president carson barked then started rattling off names of various people who would be a much better choice gunny had never heard of any of them and he already knew the general was a tireless man with a good head in his shoulders i think you'd make a great number too you're it in addition to your current position um sir gunny said now let's get this whole swearing-in stuff over with i'm tired and i've got to get up at zero dark 30. and please keep looking for somebody that's actually qualified for this job laci 28th floor day three they waited and waited one day turned into two two into three they never saw a single airplane or helicopter out of the windows they never saw the army of the national guard come the streets never changed the jammed roads were never cleared the freeways remained impassable the fires raged and consumed whole neighborhoods entire swaths of town they had eventually burned themselves out with the help of the thunderstorms on the third day they watched everything they could on the internet as one by one websites and servers went down they found a police scanner site and listened to the chaos of officer down and calls for backup on that first day after that nothing by the end of the second day they had lost electricity and with it water pressure among the stores of supplies they had searched the floor for they had discovered the maintenance closet with some five gallon jugs of water for the two water coolers they had the food supply was critically low however there weren't many leftovers in the break room refrigerator and the only food they had were snacks scavenged from desk drawers lacey had tried to text different people a few more times but most of the time they wouldn't send and on the rare occasion they did she didn't know if anyone received them she never got anything back the message from johnny was the only one that came through he was fine he had said he was at a truck stop near reno and was going to wait until things settled down a little and then head back to atlanta he'd do it too this she knew she was sitting at her desk thinking back to years gone by he was an obstinate ass sometimes but he was as tough as they came had some hard bark on him as they say back home he'd been blown up shot twice had shrapnel and grenades in him went down in a helicopter once had been gassed she couldn't recall all the times he'd been hurt and he always went back always seemed to be the guy who escaped with only a minor injury while others had legs and arms blown off all that from a boy who had only wanted to turn wrenches at a local car dealership maybe do a few odd jobs on the side for extra money then that incident at the tire shop and him having to join the army of course johnny couldn't just be a cook or something do his four years and get out he had to go all gung-ho and join the infantry then he went airborne then the rangers because all his buddies were after that he had to be a green beret be the best of the best he said special forces might as well he said the rest of his friends he'd been training with were signing up and he got hazard pay then he recruited into delta and again he didn't say no so more training more missions he didn't talk about more deployments around the world doing who knew what to god knows who she was proud of him he had turned the old proverbial lemon into lemonade he was taking out terrorists and doing his part to keep the world safe all he had to do was keep himself alive and whole for another five years and it would have all been worth it they were already planning the retirement at 38 party but then that incident in afghanistan happened she didn't think she knew the whole story but she knew enough to know that the military didn't want the world to know what had happened they had kept him out of jail out of a trial they just wanted the whole thing to be forgotten so they got rid of him and told him if he ever went public they would press charges murder didn't have a statute of limitations if he ever said anything he'd be facing life in prison she couldn't even be mad at him for what he did she probably would have done the same thing if she had walked into a room with a bunch of men raping a group of crying bleeding boys it didn't matter that they were the local religious leaders and the police captain they had been training to fight the insurgents it didn't matter that in the eyes of local islamic law they weren't doing anything wrong he had killed them all it hadn't mattered to him either he had his regrets though whether from that or other things she didn't know he wouldn't tell her everything but she knew he had nightmares for years he had lost his whole team shortly after and he didn't talk about that either he came from the solitary meadows part of the family they kept themselves to themselves where he grew up way up in a hauler getting him to talk about his feelings was damn near impossible the creatures in the hallway had stopped their pounding after a while and as long as everyone stayed quiet they seemed to have forgotten there were people inside the offices on the third day the city was eerily silent the city was dead the only life they saw was the occasional flicker of candlelight from the windows of nearby buildings they heard no more screams no matter how faint or distant no sirens wailing no horns honking mr sato's satellite phone hadn't been able to reach anyone since yesterday no matter how many numbers he tried if they peeked carefully through the glass doors they could see the ceaseless wanderings of the creatures in the hallway they just seemed to shuffle around aimlessly bumping into each other or the walls eric and one of the ladies that had come in with phil had put a bit of effort into making everyone dinner that evening with the last of what they had scrounged lacey was pretty sure a few of them were holding out had hidden power bars or peppermints from everyone else but it didn't matter a few more bites of granola wouldn't have made a difference they needed to get out of here this was their last meal and in a week they would be as good as dead if they didn't move out as they ate the last of the beef jerky and protein bars with the juice concoction the cooks had whipped up from the liquor cabinet in mr sato's office lacey brought up leaving she was trying to get a feel for where everyone stood in the end it didn't matter because she was going whether anyone else was or not she just wanted to know if she was going alone or with a group we've got to get out of here she said abruptly loud enough so that all the other people could hear her has anyone given in any thought how do we make it down to the bottom we can't go the plump lady from the architectural firm nearly squealed the army will be here soon we just have to wait they won't leave us like this lacey had dealt with these types of people before as a military wife she had rammed her shopping cart right through protesters during a rally at the mall once had tried to debate people at the opposite end of the political spectrum online but in the end their philosophical differences were so far apart there was no middle ground she was from the backwoods of kentucky where everyone had a strong independent streak and disdain for people who wouldn't help themselves no one is coming she said and turned her back to the woman who probably had a whole stockpile of diet bars hidden away somewhere she thought to herself she had dismissed eric as any kind of help he had completely frozen up and shut down the first day he would be useless she knew she was being cynical but she didn't want everyone to go most of them would just slow her down but a few of them would be an asset phil for one he had the only gun carla she was pretty fit young and into hiking and biking alex from the accounting firm 12 stories above he looked to be in pretty good shape robert maybe middle-aged and withdrawn but not too flabby mr sato was pretty spry for an old guy they had talked about how he had beat one of those things off with his briefcase in the stairwell smashing in its head phil she asked you have any ideas mr sato sure try to get the only man with a gun to go with you the annoying woman chimed in lacey was starting to think she knew how johnny felt now when he would just haul off and punch someone for talking she ignored her and kept her gaze on the two men as it turned out they did have some ideas for some strange man-logic notion of chivalry or some such nonsense the men had been going over plans for the past day or so running ideas past each other and trying to formulate something solid to get them down to the parking garage their plan was pretty simple open the doors just wide enough to let one monster in at a time and kill it with one of mr sato's golf clubs they do that until all are dead and then make their way down 30 flights of stairs to the sub-basement the emergency lights should still be on no one knew how long they would stay that way but phil said they had all been upgraded to led lights a few years back so the emergency batteries should last a long time once down the stairs they could determine the next best plan of action depending on what they found it was a pretty good plan and now that it was out in the open the rest started to bring up ideas the men hadn't thought of they decided to break the ends off some of the putters and make stabbing objects out of them so they wouldn't have to depend entirely on swinging a heavy driver in the confined quarters of the stairwell they were going to use both the head gripped in their fists as a stabber and the shaft as a short lance lacey found her first spikes she had made from the shelf brackets and worked on them some more so they fit her hands better using a lot of the duct tape until they felt comfortable phil went through the secretary's drawers until he found half a dozen letter openers and taped the handles to make some pretty lethal daggers in the end they had hashed out something they all thought was workable even the annoying woman whose name lacy could never seem to remember they were sure they would find some heavy-duty suvs in the valet parking once they decided which vehicles they wanted it would be easy to grab the keys from the office chapter 23 the three flags truck stop day three the president what a joke gunny thought as he woke up to the alarm clock on his phone his one and probably only presidential order that he had given was a good one he had made general carson vice president he was all legal and constitutional so if he got killed on his trek back home or even if he decided to disappear with his family there was an established hierarchy again or chain of command or whatever it was called carson would make a good president if he ever got out of the bunker he was sure the general would pick all kinds of cabinet members from different areas so the government would carry on it was on the bottom of his worry list he had done what they asked it was all official and if he made it back here he'd worry about acting presidential or something meanwhile he had a long way to go and he'd already wasted too much time he glanced at his phone again checking for messages out of habit none of the apps he had downloaded worked except solitaire he switched it back over to airplane mode so it wouldn't search for a signal all day and run the battery down the sun was just below the eastern horizon as he threw on some clothes and headed towards the diner he had told the guys he was convoying with that he was rolling at seven be there or be left behind the little apartments they were planning on building weren't finished yet but most of the people had bedded down in the empty brokers offices so the diner was nearly empty martha was up and poured him a cup of coffee as he approached the counter gunny could smell biscuits baking in the oven and nodded his good morning to cookie he was at his griddle cobb came out of the back and stomped over to where gunny was sitting and took a stool beside him at the counter we got a problem he said typical cobb no pussyfooting around what's that gunny asked that general said we're in a fallout zone if the reactor in washington goes up yeah gunny said but didn't he say there were teams that were going to take care of it remove all the rods yeah but the nearest muzzy mosque is 150 miles away from it i can't risk staying besides there's no future here we couldn't get the well to work yesterday it's bone dry so in a couple of days we won't have any water gunny looked around the truck stop at all they had and all cobb's family had built over the last half century that sucks he said my family's had this place for what 50 years just because all the good land was taken cobb said this ain't nothing but desert scrub nobody wanted now there's plenty of lands available and it's all free what are you planning on doing oh there's a big reservoir near lakota oklahoma according to the general he said it's in a safe area if everything goes wrong and the hodgies can't get all the rods out everywhere good water good land good hunting good fishing and not in the wind path of any reactors we need to get there well who's we gunny asked everyone cobb replied after you took off to your truck to crash out last night we had a little pow wow in here wire bender had flipped the coms on in the diner once you said you'd take the job as president and everyone heard you do the swearing thing with the general everybody knows we have to leave and everybody agreed the best way was to convoy down with you and the rest who were taken off this morning gunny grimaced he wanted to leave soon and didn't want to be responsible for a bunch of drag-ass civilians cobb saw the turmoil on his face guessed at what he was thinking i have a bigger responsibility now than just yourself he said like it or not all of us are gonna depend on you gunny sighed and rubbed his hand across his eyes okay he said you're right it's smart to leave anyway even if you did have water if they screw up with getting the rods out you wouldn't know it until it was too late how soon can we roll realistically cobb asked tomorrow morning grizz and that deputy you brought back are going to run a refresher course for the vets this morning make sure everyone's up to speed on communications and tactics and road procedures going to be a big convoy we don't want to lose anyone we got a lot of packing to do he continued in his rusty voice we're never coming back and we need to take as much as possible with us i wish we still had the internet i could see what kind of businesses were down there so we would have to pack generators or welders if there were a bunch already there but we're going in blind so we need to take everything yeah all right gunny said i'll grab my maps and start planning a route avoiding the cities but seriously cobb i need to be on the road tomorrow morning my wife is trapped in a high-rise and my kid is stuck in a room at his high school i hope he added to himself yeah about that i got to thinking and had wirebender get a hold of cheyenne mountain this morning you being the president and all i told them to see if they can pull your wife's phone records from nsa she may have emailed or texted you some more and it didn't deliver if it uploaded though they should be able to find it i told them to check your kids too but they don't know their numbers gunny said cobb just laughed cynically they know everything he said gunny gave a sideways grin yeah pretty savvy for an old timer he said thanks cobb i didn't even think about something like that you should be president not me i don't have the brains for it and you know it hell everybody knows it feeling sorry for yourself rasp glaring at him no gunny replied but you know you'd do a better job of it yeah probably cobb said but it ain't me it's you i don't reckon you'll screw it up too bad just don't get so big for your britches you forget to take advice from people who are smarter than you gunny nodded and the old man grunted grabbed his coffee cup and clomped off chapter 24 the morning started out slowly with the night shift guards coming off duty and the people sleeping in the temporary apartments waking up and wandering in for coffee of course when scratch lars and stabby came in and noticed gunny sitting at a table going over his maps they immediately ran over they started bowing and scraping calling him your royal highnessness offering to shine his shoes and shall i comb your eminence golden hair and shall i wipe your royal butt your most esteemed one gunny's piss off only brought more bowing and scraping with profuse apologies for being so inadequate for his majesty's most magnanimous royal greatness and the world was blessed because they were impotent and wouldn't curse the planet with their inferior offspring each was trying to out bow and out grovel the other the gathered people were much amused cobb clumped in and put an end to it with a list of everything that needed to be done gunny wondered if he ever slept he started assigning tasks to everyone including the kids and told them to all hurry up and eat no time to sit around jack jawing kenny had an idea and stood up to ask if anyone could fly a plane a helicopter it would make things so much easier but no one could the closest was carl of the prius and he only had experience on a computer flight sim he and his girl had seen the mayhem when they left and managed to get turned around and made it back to the safety of the three flags later in the evening when most of the tasks had been completed when all the materials they had on hand was used to up armor the trucks and they were loaded and were ready to roll everyone was called in from their jobs for a hot supper they were having the last full course meal for the next week or so and preacher wanted it to be a little something special this may be their final supper they were facing the unknown in the morning he said a prayer over their meal and everyone dug in cookie and martha and kim had outdone themselves making a dinner to remember 40 people ate with gusto with the only ones not able to join being the unfortunate few who had guard duty scratch stabby and lars had worked on improving the designs of the stabbing weapons they had used the previous day and made as many as they could for everyone the wicked spiked knuckle dusters being a favorite because they left the hands free to handle guns easily stacy had commandeered much of lars's cocaine stash saying it was originally used as a medicine and was going to be used as a medicine again she left him a small bucket of it and gave them very stern warnings that if she ever suspected their use of it endangered anyone's lives there would be swift and serious old west style justice coming at them from the end of a rope it was a free country but by god they better not abuse it sarah was there giving them the evil eye clicking her nails on the handle of the nine inch blade she had strapped to her thigh they didn't know if she was kidding or not but decided to take her out her word she was kind of scary when she was pissed and scratch told them how cool and calm she was about shoving letter openers into the brains of people still alive damn lara said as they walked off with a few million dollars worth of powder they could teach tony montana thing or two yeah sniff stabby stacy and sarah the ss sisters a couple of the trucks had pto pumps on them and they had been modified to be able to pump fuel out of the ground of any gas station or truck stop they came to that covered resupply for the trucks and the 12-volt pump idea gunny had was still a good one for sarah's motorcycle until they found one though they had filled up a handful of five-gallon cans and strapped them on the catwalk of grizz's truck she had gotten her fireblade around to the shop and tommy had stripped some of the plastics and built a lightweight exoskeleton frame for her to protect the most vulnerable parts of the bike if she went down she wanted to ride point a few miles ahead of the main group and let them know if anything bad was coming up she had shot down everyone who tried to talk her out of it it was her bike her life and she was riding so piss off as gunny liked to say wirebender had been working all day ringing up radios he built a hands-free mic for sarah's helmet and mounted a peaked and tuned cb with a small amplifier and its antenna to the back of her bike he put a better set of antennas an extra cb and a ham radio and gunny's truck so he could talk to cheyenne mountain if needed general carson had tried to speak with gunny about a few organizational things but his reply had been the same every time take care of it you're in charge of that any luck with my wife's phone and pretty soon the general had quit bugging him after dinner gunny and cobb walked around all the vehicles lined up in the junkyard checking each for any problems or deficiencies that may have been missed it was most of the trucks that had been there modified big rigs and their trailers full of food or supplies when tommy cut up the livestock trailer to build the plows they had let the cattle out to graze what they could from the weeds growing up around the rusting hulks it wasn't much but they would leave the gates open when they left and the cattle could fend for themselves there would be plenty more to round up once they got to where they were going the cowboys had their tour bus fully fueled and it was to be loaded with people in the truck stop and a few surviving family members of tommy's mechanics no one wanted to drive their car they all felt safer in the armored bus and it had a bathroom besides once they got to where they were going they could go to the nearest dealer and pick out any car they wanted they walked on past the last truck past the impromptu gun range where grizz had been drilling everyone and to the small graveyard near the back fence gunny noticed a cross for tiny had been erected preacher do that he asked yeah cobb replied he lost some good men that first day gunny stayed quiet he had nothing to add to that they stood in silence for a moment remembering and he noticed a small hand-carved sign hanging on the fence above the graves it read john 3 16 has conquered zachariah 14 12. what's that all about yes cobb i know the john verse god so loved the world he gave his only begotten son but what's the other one cobb looked at it through the haze of his lucky strike preacher said this whole zombie uprising was written about by the old prophets said there's a bunch of passages about the dead rising like most of the weird stuff in there everyone just thought it was an allegory or something i guess it wasn't i've read the book a few times again he said but i don't remember anything about zombies it's in there cobb said i just didn't think it meant what it said i was thinking gunny started wanting to change the subject maybe we should go by cheyenne mountain try to get the general and his men out or at least clear out the zeds for him they're just a bunch of eggheads and we got a pretty hard crew here i already discussed that with him cobb said they may be pokes but they ain't dumb they made a kind of maze out of the cubicle dividers in their area they'll open the door and one or two zeds will rush in and they'll close it behind him and then stab him to death with sharpened chair legs from behind the maze walls they set up trip wires all kinds of things to slow him down so they can kill him pretty smart gunny said so they are whittling the numbers down yeah they've killed about 30 so far haven't lost any of theirs the biggest problems of smell i can imagine gunny said 30 bodies piled up in a corner rotten away how they set for food and water that's a problem they've got water as long as the place keeps ticking along he said they need to get out to service the generators but jack said the electricity is powered by turbines from an underground river so i don't know maybe they've changed since he was in mi a place is supposed to be fully self-sustaining they hope to have all of them killed out of the immediate area over the next day or so the mess area is only a few hallways away once they clear the communications block they're in now he said they should get in there soon then they can go on indefinitely so they don't need our help we couldn't get to the front doors even if we went there cobb said it would take a dozen tanks and dozen reloads to blow the barriers besides general carson said our priority is to get these people to safety and pick up anyone we find along the way gunny had been busy all day hustling to help everyone get their trucks loaded and ready checking and rechecking weapons and making final improvements on his own rig there was grizz's mandatory training class dropping trailers they had no use for and reloading wagons with supplies they thought they might need there had been zombie killing duties and he had pulled a shift atop the roof to take them out before they got close to anyone working inside he hadn't had much time to think beyond the immediate hadn't had time to think of his presidential duties but cobb had been on top of things it was weird having top defer to him instead of telling him he needed to shave or something to treat him like a superior when gunny was just gunny just johnny joe meadows from backwater kentucky same old truck driver he was yesterday except now he didn't have a house payment or any more credit card bills and he could get himself a new sixty thousand dollar fully loaded pickup truck just by walking into the dealership and looking for the keys hell he could find the fanciest mansion in town and claim it if he wanted well if the owner was dead that is but all these things were the last of their kind it wouldn't be a next year's model once the shelves were empty at the mall they wouldn't be refilled once they ran out of your shoe size it would be back to hand cobbled how would you get a replacement if you broke a window none of that seemed important at the moment as he looked down at the wooden cross where preacher had carved tiny's name death was very close now he sighed he didn't even know tiny's real name he'd just always been tiny all the years he'd known him didn't know where his wife lived he had gone through his truck hoping to find something with his home address on it his wallet must have been on him when he went down and he didn't find anything else in his search his phone was missing too probably also in his pocket general asked if he'd come in around 10 o'clock our time cobb said even that was weird the general asked if you would gunny had been used to taking orders from officers not giving them not being asked to do something by a general right he said glancing at his watch i'll be along in a few minutes cobb just grunted and walked off in his limping gate knowing the man needed a moment to himself he stared at the crosses with the names carved into them at the mounds of sandy soil guys he had known only in passing and guys he had known for years pure dumb luck he wasn't one of them buried six feet under or worse one of the screaming undead he was lucky he hadn't been caught outside taken down in the first few minutes like so many others had he was lucky he had 15 years of military training to snap him into the reality of what was happening almost instantly but even that was a fluke wasn't part of his plan of years ago he had been a senior getting ready to graduate from the tri-cities vocational school with a degree in auto mechanics he was working part-time at the tire store in town and had his applications in at all the big car dealerships hoping to land a job as a service tech life looked good for him he was a great mechanic with a wonderful girl who was going to community college that fall to study to be a teacher he had plans to put a ring on her finger in a few years when he was making good money but life got in the way of his plans big billy wilson and his crew of falling idiot jocks came in to get the oil changed in the new camaro his daddy had bought him he could put up with their bullying and being an to everybody that didn't play football loved football or loved them because they played football their snide comments rolled right off of him but when lacey came in after her shift at the mcdonald's to wait for him to finish up things got ugly he hadn't meant to break billy's jaw he honestly didn't realize that he had the ratchet wrench in his hand when he swung on him after he grabbed her ass the only way the judge wouldn't charge him with felonious assault as an adult was for him to join the military the judge made it clear he was going to be leaving one way or another it wasn't going to have a small town feud between two hotheads causing more violence or bloodshed he was leaving as a recruit in boot camp or as a new fish in prison not much of a choice really so he decided to join the army as a mechanic repair their trucks and tanks good work experience and enhance his resume the recruiter said there weren't any slots available for any mechanic jobs if he could wait until next quarter there would be some opening up but he couldn't wait judge needed his early enlistment papers at the next court hearing in a week or he was looking at jail time air force or navy didn't want him but the charge pending and he didn't know if he could cut it as a marine so it went back to the army recruiter and went over his list of available positions supply clerk miracle assistant ammo specialist trumpet player a whole list of dreadful options in his opinion but infantryman was always open the recruiter had said and there's even a ten thousand dollar sign-on bonus gunny sighed coming back to the present he reached out to touch the cross to say goodbye then turned and headed to the cb shop there was a new voice on the radio he introduced himself as captain barnett and called gunny mr president when he addressed him yeah no need for all that sir he said where's the general is he all right yes mr president he said he is sleeping ask me to relay this information to you when you checked in shall i find him no of course not gunny said what's the good news he crossed his fingers hoping it was good news we were able to pull messages from your wife and son's phone they were uploaded from the atlanta towers but that's as far as they got they were never delivered no gunny thought but said can you read them to me jesse in the woods day three they were miserable utterly exhausted parched beyond belief and eaten up by mosquito and ant bites jesse didn't even care if the whole world watched him take a morning leak on the zombies still milling around down below not that he had anything left to pee he was so wrung out the crowd below knew they were still up in the trees they had settled down stopped their screaming and frantic jumping after a few hours but they weren't giving up some had wandered off but there were still dozens gathered around each of the trees they were in it was like they knew all they had to do was wait them out the meat would be falling from the sky soon enough it didn't matter if it took a day or a week they would blunder around and wait he had nothing better to do no pressing engagements to attend jesse doug and gary had been able to lick a little moisture from the bottom of the leaves that had accumulated during the night it wasn't much but he supposed helped sheila had it worse than all of them she had climbed a pine and the needles didn't have any place for the dew to form and she was covered in the tacky pine sap they had spent a dangerous night trying to be as quiet as possible tying themselves to the trunk of the tree with their clothes belts or vines so they wouldn't nod off and fall out it was really a sign of how bad things were for them when sheila bare to her jeans didn't try very hard to hide herself as she struggled back into her sticky shirt and doug barely noticed no more gary shouted struggling around on the branch he was perched on to face them that got the undead gathered around his tree animated again and they started their keening and jumping listen they aren't going anywhere they can outlast us and i'm freaking ate up with mosquito bites i'm tired of this i'm going to get them all over here and then you guys make a break for it how are you going to do that doug ass jump yeah he replied you guys would have made it if i hadn't slowed you down thanks for trying but this is the only way you know we can't last another day up here sheila can you show me your hooters before i go he was trying for nonchalance and bravado he almost nailed it wait up a minute jesse said i've been trying to come up with some ideas let's figure something out maybe tomorrow she teased her voice cracking a little from the dryness for now what are you thinking jesse he grinned at that one good for her when i was little and we would visit my grandparents in kentucky my dad showed me something he did as a kid he used to climb saplings up until they would bend over from his weight and ride them back down to the ground he'd let go and the tree would spring back with him ready to find another we called it the hillbilly roller coaster i think we could do the same thing with these trees he finished cracking on the last words trying to swallow with nothing left to moisten his throat these trees are way too big doug said there's no way only gotta bend to the next tree closer to the water gary said seeing where this was going do a tarzan kind of thing treat a tree jesse could only nod his voice was shot he grabbed a few of the fattest leaves he could find and tried to suck anything damp out of them and if you miss wind up in an open area ask sheila better than staying here for another night gary said and laboriously started to make his way to the thin branches at the top of his tree doug shrugged to the rest of them as if to say there isn't a better plan why not and started to climb they were all exhausted from the miserable night they had spent slapping mosquitoes and trying to find a position that was comfortable for a few minutes it could have been worse jesse guessed at least he didn't pick a tree that was infested with ants he looked up trying to determine the best way to climb wishing now he hadn't picked such a huge tree he went a long way up before it looked like it was thin enough to bend with his weight he followed the path it would go determining which tree he would need to land in it was the pine that sheila was in he watched her climb for a minute then got started himself the milling hoard of undead getting agitated at their movement and starting to keen and claw skyward towards them again gary had the farthest to go out of the four he was the first one they tossed up into the gnarled old oak he was managing though using only his upper body swinging and scrabbling steadily moving upward they all climbed until the branches were too thin to stand on and the tops of the trees swayed back and forth dangerously with them they could see each other clearly now three figures with arms wrapped tightly around the narrow tops of their trees each nearly a hundred feet off the ground gary was far below them resting he didn't have the strength to go on his arms were shaking from the exertion from this vantage point jesse could see he didn't have a chance even with a good set of legs the old oak towered a long way above him and he doubted if gary could get it to bend in the right direction forget it gary he yelled hoarsely over to him tree tapers off the wrong way you'll never get it to swing towards the lake just hang on dude doug added when we get down we'll figure out a distraction to draw them away gary just nodded too tired to disagree or even answer jesse looked over at sheila who was frozen arms wrapped tightly around the gently tilting pine it was going the right way if it bent far enough it would take her all the way to the lake but he knew it wouldn't it would snap before it went that far down but there was a decent size something oak maple poplar he didn't know but it was there right in the path of the pine and it had branches that stretched out over the water all she had to do was go a little bit higher and ride it over you good doug yelled over at her ready to do this she nodded her head but didn't move her eyes were tightly shut and they could see she was breathing in short little gasps crap jesse thought she's afraid of heights they tried to talk her over it to get her to move but she was stuck in place couldn't commit to another step higher and the irreversible bending of the tree that it would bring i need that tree jesse croaked out his voice nearly gone they'd only had a few sips of apple juice each in the last couple of days go back down he whispered as loud as he could and she nodded again slowly inching her foot back towards the thicker branches doug's voice was no better and he finally just reverted to hand signals pointing to himself then the lake he was gonna go first he had at least one tree to get to maybe two before he was close enough to ride a branch down into the water and he started his final ascent to the upper level of his tree the water so close but so far away water water everywhere but not a drop to drink jesse thought wondering where he'd heard that from if he hadn't understood what he meant before he did now they were dying of dehydration tongues starting to swell lips cracked and chopped and just a hundred feet away was millions of gallons of cool crisp life-giving water sheila was halfway down the tree the thicker the branches got the faster she climbed and jesse decided he wasn't going to wait and see if doug made it or not he would die today if he didn't get to the water either from sheer exhaustion causing him to fall out of the tree and into the waiting arms of those things below or simply from dehydration if doug didn't make it and he had to listen to him crashing through the branches then being torn apart he might lose his nerve might just belt himself to the trunk fall asleep and never wake up it was go time and he drew in his inner strength hoping it was enough and climbed another 10 feet the top of the tree leaning slowly at first then picking up speed his back was towards the pine and he let his legs dangle holding on only with his hands a hundred feet from the ground and swooping quickly now the treetop was tender and green and had a lot of bend in it more than was needed he hoped before it would snap he looked over his shoulder and saw he needed more distance and reached his hand over a few more feet towards the top of the tree gravity had taken over and there was no turning back it would bend until it broke and it was a long long way to the ground his stomach was in his throat and he knew why it was called a roller coaster now he heard a snapping not a complete break like old dead wood but the slow letting go of fresh growth and he fell towards the pine tree's branches he let go of the maple and it whipped back as he used his entire body to fall across the pine's prickly limbs grabbing for a handhold wherever he could he crashed down through a few layers hearing sheila scream below him before he got a good grip and jangled to an abrupt halt splayed out over two different branches bending precariously with his weight he held on tightly not caring about the myriad of cuts and scrapes not feeling anything except his heart thudding against his rib cage he opened his eyes and looked to see if doug had made it to see if he was sprawled out in the tree hanging on for dear life or if he had missed and fallen neither he was standing on a branch laughing and giving jesse the thumbs up show off jesse croaked out flipped him the bird and started pulling himself to the trunk of the tree so he could do this all over again one more time and he'd be trying to drink up the whole lake jesse day three the lake he and doug had both made it to the trees closest to the water the undead howlers screaming up below them this particular section of the lakefront was undeveloped because it was a low-lying area it was prone to flooding during the rainy season mosquito infested and swampy the rest of the year there were no boats or private docks nearby and neither boy wanted to continue to risk tree swinging down to the shoreline until they came to one both had come dangerously close to plummeting all the way to the ground in the barely controlled falls between trees there was a swimmer's dock a few hundred yards out and downshore maybe a quarter of a mile let's just hope zed doesn't swim doug had said judging the distance to the platform what if they can sheila had asked far down below them in the thicker branches of the pine jesse didn't answer just looked at the distance he had to cover and started making his way out on the branch that hung the farthest over the water there wasn't a choice staying here equaled 100 chance of death risking the water equaled a 50 50 chance as far as he figured as fast as they were on land he was sure he could not swim them if they did have the ability to tread water if they didn't if they could only try to run underwater in the muck and mud he was pretty sure he could out distance them maybe they would get lucky and those things wouldn't even go in the lake but they did they followed him out onto the branch staying underneath him and waiting for him to fall they kept their blackened eyes on him arms outstretched as the branch got thinner and thinner and he started dipping towards the surface this wasn't going to work they were only chest deep and he couldn't get out past them they were still moving around even though the muck was sucking at their feet slower than normal sure but if he jumped in now he was fairly certain they could move well enough to get to him before he put the 10 or 20 feet between them and deep water he started scooting back towards the base of the tree he would have to come up with a different plan doug had been watching from his vantage point near the top of the poplar tree he was in he was going to ride his tree down like he had the others getting over to it another hillbilly roller coaster ride the height and closeness to the shore would put him way out in deep water jesse didn't have that option he was in a huge old tree but the top wasn't bending in the right direction it was leaning back the way he came that made it easy to get to it but impossible to take him to the lake can you get a run on the branch just dive off the end past him doug rasped at him jesse had made his way back to the trunk of the tree and was leaning against it trying to figure something else out i'm not that coordinated he managed to croak out small and i'd be bouncing at every step i'd just slip and rack my nuts he was so thirsty the water was only a few feet away he'd drink anything right now even the murky bug-filled swill pooled here and there on the ground maybe when doug goes in they'll chase after him gary said from his tree looks like they zeroed in on each of us sheila said you'll notice the ones from your tree followed you over and these in my tree haven't left stay right with me jesse looked down really looking at who was below him for the first time he hadn't wanted to identify them it was easier when he was high up and they were just figures far below just them not actual people now he looked and saw who they were these have been his classmates there was tyrese still in his letterman's jacket one of the starters in the football team sharon the mousy girl who never said anything now snarling and reaching for him portia the light-skinned girl whom he'd had a bit of a crush on for months now he didn't know all of them by name but he recognized him every one of them even one of the ladies that worked in the office missing a lot of her hair and nearly topless her blue veined skin dully shining on her exposed jesse looked away closed his eyes there was at least 20 down below him people he had known joked with been annoyed with teamed up on class projects with ate lunch with and cheered on at the pep rallies now all of them were screaming for his blood something his old man had said during one of their sparring practices came back to him he was explaining how people got themselves beat up or killed how women got raped or used as punching bags he had said it wasn't because they were helpless it was because they didn't have the killer instinct in them anymore it had been forced out by years of civility jesse had argued that a 100 pound woman didn't have a chance if some big bruiser came after her his dad had disagreed and then started showing him ways to kill people with anything an ink pen car keys an empty soda can your fingers he had said even though someone was hurting you maybe even killing you most people wouldn't fight back it was almost as if they were afraid of injuring their attackers they were victims with a victim's mindset there were sheep he had said dismissively they wouldn't stick their fingers knuckled deep in someone's eye they wouldn't go for an artery with their teeth and rip it open just look at all those videos of isis chopping people's heads off by the germans executing the jews the people just sit there and take it instantaneous stockholm syndrome or something he had said jesse had never hurt anyone about the worst he'd ever done was bloody kyle's lip he daydreamed about kicking his ass but he knew he'd never actually do it he needed to be more like his old man wished they would have kept up with the sparring they hadn't been getting along very well for the past few years and he really didn't know why they just seemed to get in each other's nerves so easily now he knew his dad had killed people he wasn't supposed to know about it not any of the specifics anyway but sometimes army guys would come over and hang out his old man was in some group that was supposed to help vets but mostly it seemed they would come over and barbecue and then go in the garage they would drink beer and mess around with that old mercury he'd been working on for years they lived in a bi-level and the garage was adjacent to his room if they didn't have the classic rock station cranked up too loud he could hear them talking late at night when he should have been asleep long ago and he knew they were a whole bunch of beers into it he would hear them telling stories about shooting people about getting shot about friends who had died when they didn't think anyone but themselves could hear they talked about some really horrible stuff jesse had heard them talk about killing women about a guy who got killed by a little kid asking for candy about killing people you thought were going to kill you and then finding out they were just farmers carrying shovels sometimes he had heard men crying apologizing to long dead people for the things they'd done or things they hadn't done but should have once he thought it was his dad sobbing talking about getting everyone on his team killed but he'd been half dozing it must have been one of the other guys because his dad didn't cry it was a little ironic these guys riding harleys and wearing leathers and looking like they'd kill your mama for a quarter some of the nicest guys he'd met even when he was little and was probably pestering them to death they never yelled at him to go play and leave them alone those guys were serious bad asses it was almost like they had done so much violence in their lives and went out of their way to avoid it now but they weren't sheep they hid their inner monsters well but they were there just below the surface ready to come back out if needed now he had to decide if he was like them and would do whatever it took to survive if he had a monster inside a lot of them had nightmares and regrets later they were alive to have them he glanced down over the branch at the mass below him there was no second guessing required he wouldn't be mistakenly killing someone who just happened to get in the way every one of them was trying to kill him to rip him limb from limb with their bare hands did he have it in him could he kill them yes he thought he could no problem would it give him nightmares maybe but at least he'd be alive to have them he had an idea when he looked up again sheila was hissing at him hello hey did you fall asleep doug's getting ready to go he shook his head and watched doug as he started his final climb to the top leaned over towards the lake and held on gary and sheila tried yelling the best they could maybe distract the creatures around his tree but they only had eyes for him when he started on the downward rush picking up speed as he plummeted towards the water they splashed into the lake after him ignoring everything else doug had been near the very top of the tree swaying dangerously on the tiny branches that far up he had hoped to ride it gracefully to the water but when he was still a good 30 feet in the air it snapped off and he flailed the rest of the way down trying not to land on his back and hoping the water was deep enough he didn't bury himself in the mud aside from the drawn out oh that was cut off abruptly when he hit the surface with a resounding splash it was an uneventful fall from the top of a giant tree they waited anxiously for him to pop back up not knowing if he'd been grabbed underwater the dozens of undead that ran out after the meal falling from the sky were gone from view none of them floating but they could see dark swirls of muddy water bubbling to the surface that made their path clear when he came back up sucking air he was a long way from where he went in and stroking furiously towards the floating dock he made it it took him two tries to pull himself onto it and once he did he just lay there panting one arm raised with a thumb in the air they all cheered the prospect of surviving this had just gotten better jesse looked up his tree until he saw what he needed then started climbing he would do what it took he was a survivor he would not be one of the sheep even if doug came back with a boat he'd never get near enough to shore without being swamped by those things he should have thought of this two days ago he chastised himself maybe he wasn't ready then his inner monster had still been sleeping maybe he wasn't desperate enough then and his mind just wouldn't even allow the thoughts to form he was now he was tired thirsty ate up with mosquitoes and getting pissed off he let the anger build as he snapped off a half dozen dead branches a little smaller than his forearm and five or six feet long he tried to get them to snap to a point like a spear they wanted to play he was going to teach him a new game poke a hole in the zombie's head until it was dead step right up ladies and gentlemen everyone can play winner gets to live loser gets to die he made his way back down to a big branch just a few feet out of the reach and lay on it making sure his feet could curl around something solid to help hold him in place he wove the extra spears into leafy branches so they wouldn't fall then readied himself still feeding the anger to get into a killing frame of mind he heard sheila and gary hoarsely yelling at him asking him what he was doing but he ignored them gary couldn't sheila wouldn't it was up to him he looked down straight into porsche's black eyes she was three days dead her skin gone grayish old blood around her mouth and chin her hair matted and tangled she was wearing that hello kitty shirt she liked the one that was about three sizes too small and showed off her lovely assets it was torn and dirty blood-stained her assets were sagging looking empty somehow and not so lovely anymore she was a mess gnashing her teeth and jumping for him broken fingernails clawing just below where he lay he wondered if there was any of her left inside of the monster trying to kill him did she know what she was doing and couldn't help herself did she care that it was him did she remember those stolen kisses and all the times they'd shared lunch if he tried could he bring her back from what she is to what she was he closed his eyes another one of his old man's stupid sayings coming into his head a wolf doesn't concern himself of the opinions of the sheep when he opened his eyes it wasn't to see friends and acquaintances he wasn't looking through the glass darkly he was seeing clearly through the eyes of a wolf his inner monster was awake and angry the wolf in his head was pacing wanting to be freed he drove the spear down hard through her eye and directly into her squirming brain she fell in a heap and was quickly replaced by his fourth period teacher he used her fallen body to get another foot closer leaping and clawing for flesh jesse shoved the spear into his open mouth and through his spine then jerked it back to drive it into the next screaming zombie to reach for him he plunged it in and out blood and brains making it slick they kept coming and he kept stabbing the bodies piled higher he thrust his homemade spear into eyes hearing them squelch through soft noses hearing the cartilage break as he drove it deep into their brains when the stick snapped he reached for the next one and kept on killing when it was so coated with his classmate's blood that it pulled out of his hands he grabbed a third it was a machine thrust kill repeat thrust kill repeat thrust kill repeat it became a mantra and the monster inside screamed at the monsters below his arms were covered in blood gore splattered his face he raged at them with uncontained fury punish them for making him become something less than human he climbed a branch higher as they got closer standing on the scores of the dead he didn't think beyond the immediate didn't see the piles of corpses stacking up and the undead faces looming ever closer to his didn't see the horrified looks of sheila and gary as he lay waste to the undead didn't hear his own snarls and guttural curses didn't feel his seared and parched throat the blood trickling down his face from cracked and bleeding lips this had to be done they died or he died he couldn't spend another day trapped in a tree he stabbed and swung until his arms were exhausted and trembling then stabbed and swung some more he cursed and spat at them he let the bodies pile up and the things get closer so he wouldn't have to reach so far to kill them he hated them with every fiber of his being every time he thought he was nearly done with the butchery moore would run over from gary or sheila's tree how many had he killed forty fifty he couldn't keep it up if he only had something to drink his mind kept telling him then he could carry on for a few more minutes his throat was raw from sucking in air through the dry passageway to his lungs and he kept spitting out blood felt like his tongue was so swollen it would cut off his windpipe but he kept swinging and stabbing always the face sometimes clean thrust into the brain sometimes glancing blows that shattered teeth and ripped off cheeks or lips the pile of bodies got so high they were using it to scrabble up into his tree and leap for him they didn't have the coordination to hang onto a branch or watch where they were stepping and as soon as they managed to get near him he would swing and they would slip and tumble back down sometimes not moving again as they landed on their heads sometimes never being able to climb again with their broken legs and arms jesse kept stabbing a berserker frenzy driving him beyond caring about exhaustion and pain a crusader swinging his sword at unending masses of heathens a viking striking ceaselessly with his battle axe a knight slaying his way through the armies of the enemy his hands were raw and blistered and bleeding from the constant shoving motions on the rough spears his face was on fire from a deep gash spouting blood he had to stop to climb a little farther up to rest but they wouldn't let him they kept coming and the pyre kept getting higher their screams never stopped and he answered them with a hoarse roar blood spraying from his raw throat they thought they were so close to having him could taste his blood as it splashed from his snarling mouth and down on their faces he stabbed and stabbed and stabbed the pointed end of his stick brutal in its simplicity impale withdraw find another face impale withdraw find another face he continued until he couldn't anymore and then continued anyway they threw themselves at him and he stacked their bodies on a gory altar of death when the horde finally stopped coming at him he was surprised and disappointed that there was nothing left to kill he let his last stick be pulled out of his bleeding hands and it fell to the ground some 20 feet below stuck in the eye socket of cody from third period was done his chest heaved his heart raced sweat poured from him and his blood dripped from his flayed open cheek he stared listlessly at the few that remained as they tried to climb the pile of bodies to get to him they were all broken all had made multiple attempts to lunge at him and had fallen flailing to the ground legs were dragging at odd angles shattered arms refused to pull them up the pyramid of dead jesse leaned back against the trunk balanced on a wide branch the monster in him was retreating its taste for destruction had been sated if one of them made it up to him now he didn't think he would even have the strength to open his eyes let alone try to fight it off he was through maybe if he could get his arms to stop shaking get a little feeling back in his legs he might try to run down the mound and into the water then what he knew he didn't have enough left in him to make it to the swimming dock it's too far he wasn't thinking clearly his brain and a fog he needed to take a short breather he rested his ravaged hands throbbed with every heartbeat his face hurt from where it had been torn open didn't even know how it happened one of them raked him with their claws caught it on a branch stabbed himself in the frenzy he was too weary to care too weary to move jesse day three home at last jesse awoke with a start had he really dozed off he looked down towards the ground at the thunking sound he was hearing and was surprised to see doug with a baseball bat crushing heads of all the broken zombies that were clawing their way towards him couldn't believe it doug was back and he had a john boat pulled up on the shore he was cleaning up the mess that jesse had started when did all this happen he thought he'd only closed his eyes for a few seconds jesse half tumbled half climbed down the tree and slid down the bloody pile of his classmates and headed directly into the water splashing out a few feet then diving in head first trying to drink the whole lake he drank until he came up for air and then vomited it all back out again he didn't care he dove back under swam a few yards and started drinking again dirty pond water never tasted so good then he remembered the zeds that had followed dug into the lake and disappeared under its murky surface crap did something just brush his ankle he sprinted for sure as fast as he could in the waist deep water only to meet doug and sheila settling gary in the boat and staring at him they all had bottles of water and were drinking greedily from them doug had blood splatters on his face from the gruesome task he had just finished they all looked a little freaked out at what had just happened and they couldn't stop staring at him jesse's ripped cheek and hands were still bleeding dripping on the churned up earth he reached over to the water and tried to rinse them off but they remained bloody and dripping we need to go gary said finally looking away from jesse and at the huge pyramid of undead that towered 10 or 15 feet tall they started pushing the boat back out into deeper water jesse hustled over and climbed in grabbing one of the paddles and getting some distance between them and the shoreline when they were far enough away he grabbed one of the bottles of mountain spring water from the half dozen still floating in the warm water of the cooler he chugged it down still trying to hydrate himself not caring that it smelled of fish everyone was quiet still sneaking glances at him and each other doug lowered the trolling motor down into the water and flipped it on which house is yours he asked spinning the little boat away from the bloody carnage of what used to be their friends and teachers and classmates jesse pointed across the lake at a bi-level house about a half mile away set a few hundred yards up a hillside from the lakeshore as they got closer the problems defending the house against a horde of the undead became apparent the whole top floor was all glass fronted affording a view of the lake the deck was easily accessible with the wide stairs leading up to it from the dock area i don't know jester said gary finally breaking the uncomfortable silence if those things get up on the deck there's not much stopping them from busting through the windows yeah but if we knock the deck down they can't get up to them jesse said and on the other side of the house it's all garage and there's only one window in the kitchen we can nail some plywood or something over it the entry door is pretty stout so it should hold if we brace it you have any wood there sheila asked she was also trying to forget what she had just seen for a minute she had been more afraid of jessie than she had of the zombies he had been a complete maniac screaming and hurtling ugly curses like a man possessed coated in blood and brains and he just kept stabbing and killing and snarling like a rabbit animal he had killed about a hundred people just now not people zombies she corrected herself i know there are some sheets of plywood in the garage up in the rafters jesse said joining in with the chatter and trying to put the last three days behind him the old man had me put some up there a while back so he could store car parts fenders and stuff for that old rust bucket he's working on i am so hungry sheila said rubbing her stomach and bringing all their minds back around to their bellies they were already forgetting the nightmare or at least pretending to i hope there's loads of food that hasn't gone bad jesse finished his water and started scanning the shore for danger no worries there he said there's a ton of canned stuff in the basement my parents weren't exactly survivalist types but the old man would always go to sam's club and buy everything by the case as they neared the dock jesse told them all to wait while they went up the hill got the house unlocked he grabbed the baseball bat with his bleeding hands wincing a little but ignoring it he patted his pocket making sure the key ring was still there it was i'll give you an all clear if i don't run into any trouble he didn't within five minutes they were all locked inside the house raiding the cupboards and eating everything from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to cold cans of soup jesse wrapped his hands in dish towel so he would quit splattering blood everywhere and sheila taped his cheek back together with duct tape they would fix it better after they ate they talked about proper ways to secure the house as they stuffed themselves and had every intention of doing it but once they started washing days of sweat and blood and dirt off of themselves and sat down on the comfortable recliners and couches they were through within minutes they were asleep the last three days of panic terror and pain sliding off of them as each dropped off into a heavy and much needed slumber lacie tenth floor day four morning found lacey in her office using the small paring knife from the kitchen to cut the carpet into strips she brought a bunch of them into the break area as everyone was nervously drinking what may be their last cups of coffee what are those for phil asked you ever been to the medieval dinner theater she asked she got blank looks from everyone you know the knights do battle and all that while you eat with your hands there were slow nods as he understood the question but not why she asked knight's armor she said proudly indicating the carpet strips and roll of duct tape those nasty things won't be able to bite through this suddenly they all got it and were excitedly trying it out wrapping it around their forearms creating makeshift gauntlets good idea miss lacy phil grinder i'm starting to feel like one of those gladiators he had wrapped both arms and was helping mr sato wrap his there's a place of maple that sells costumes for the renaissance fair crowd carla said quality stuff real thick leather with the last of the coffee finished and everyone armored up phil stood and the room got quiet we all know the plan he said it should be easy remember we don't come back down here to the 28th floor no matter what there's no food we die of starvation if we get trapped here if the stairs are jammed we find another floor to get on hopefully one with more food hoarders than these guys were they can't get to us if we're in any of the offices the doors open out into the stairwell and they don't seem to have enough sense in them to pull them open he looked around at the other men and women listening to him at their makeshift armor and weapons at the grim determination on most of their faces he saw the ones who would fall he knew the type the weak ones the ones still hoping to be saved by someone not realizing that person would have to be themselves he'd never been in the military but he'd been big all his life he'd been a boxer for a while then a bouncer and finally worked his way into security he knew a fighter when he saw one and mr sato had grit so did mrs meadows some of that army life had certainly rubbed off on her the others he wasn't so sure about but he'd do his best to keep them all safe it was his job and they had become his friends this is gonna get bloody he said you ladies stay back try not to faint there was a quiet titter of laughter from one of them and lacey asked him you ever had a baby phil he gave her a quizzical look no why are you asking that you don't know blood like we know blood she said and led the way to the pile of office furniture to start dismantling their blockade they left one door completely jammed and stacked the overturned desks and bookcases against the other one leaving about a foot that could be open once it was unlocked by now with the noise they had made the slavering lunatics outside had resumed their attack on the doors trying to get to the warm bodies only a few feet away lacey was going to unlock the door but the sharpened claws she had taped to her hands were in the way she was having a hard time turning the latch you do it she finally said to phil i'll take the first one they switched places and she drew her fist back tightening her already white knuckle grip on her untested battle blades the screams in the hallway were getting more intense as they sensed their prey nearby she heard the click of the lock and the door burst open the full foot they had allowed it easily shoving phil aside a keening snarling thing had forced itself halfway through the opening was reaching for her she plunged the makeshift blades deep into its eye sockets and felt the shudder as they stopped at the back of his skull he fell instantly and she was glad she had taped the blades to her hands she would have lost him if she hadn't the next one was clawing her way over the man as he fell and phil rammed a sharpened golf putter straight through the side of her head with a mighty grunt it came right out the other side and stuck deep into the wooden bookcase she hung limp like a lifeless doll effectively blocking the doorway from any more of them being able to enter don't let your end go lacey shouted at phil over the house of the undead as she held the bloodied woman there like an oversized shish kebab she had freed her spikes and was looking for another target when mr sato politely yelled allow me as he shunted her aside he swung a big driver over the dangling woman's corpse and smashed it down into another woman's face imploding her skull and sending blood and brain splattering for yards she collapsed taking the driver with her still stuck in her head mr sato stepped back to get another club and lacy thrust her fist into another gnashing face aiming for the eyes the natural shape of the skull guided her right into where she wanted to be she was quick to pull it out this time and already had her left fist flying for the face of the screeching woman missing a large portion of her hair days had been rough on her lacy noticed she must have been fighting with the others to get in because she was horribly misshapen one eye already gouged out in the frenzy to feast she fell and that was the last of them but there was still screaming lacey looked back the annoying woman had her hands on the sides of her face and was getting ready to suck in another breath when alex slapped her not hard but hard enough to get her attention she was hyperventilating how the hell did she ever make it all the way up here lacey wondered she's gonna get us killed she said maybe you should stay here we'll send help up how's that sound the woman just nodded rapidly yes yes she would stay she couldn't go back out there she had been on the third floor when she had heard the screaming that's when she had been caught up in the mad flight to this level pushed into the elevator as she stood in the hallway trying to see what was happening she didn't belong with these savage people she couldn't she wouldn't she had enough food hidden away from them she could last a while by herself until help came i don't think that's such a good idea miss meadows mr sato said but stopped from saying more when she turned to face him her arms were covered in gore and blood brain matter dropping off her spikes her face was hard and speckled with red drops if she screams like that one out there she said and pointed with a dripping hand towards a stairwell we'll all die she'll bring them running if they already aren't no it's okay the woman hardly said before they tried to make her go back out there i i want to stay i'll be fine here block the door after we're gone was all lacey said as phil pulled the spike out of the woman's head and she fell to the floor part of him didn't really want to leave miss dawson from third up here he knew she would die if they didn't make it down clear a path and send help back up but she would wind up bringing those things running with her shrieks she hadn't even been in danger she had been behind a wall of furniture and behind everyone else who had stood ready to jump in part of him had already written her off as one of the weak lacy climbed over the pile of bodies and squeezed herself through the opening phil needed to clear a few more feet out of the way before his big bulk made it through there were sets of stairs on either end of the building and as they gathered in the hallway in front of the banks of elevators it was a toss-up which way to go there had been more of the creatures three days ago so they had managed to push against the doors and wander out onto the stairs once in the stairwell they wouldn't be getting back in though they all wondered how many have been trapped there endlessly wandering up and down what a nightmare if we had to have a zombie outbreak why couldn't we have some slow-moving shamblers lacey asked and noticed with some satisfaction that no one drugged the bodies out of the doorway for the silly woman she would have to get her hands dirty if she wanted to lock the doors leading into the tomb she was building for herself well bill said we know there are a bunch in that one he pointed to the left so i guess we take a chance on the other as they headed to the right in the dim light filtering through the tinted windows lacy reached out and pushed the call button for the elevator nothing happened no light ring lit up no ding of an elevator arriving no doors sliding open she sighed and readjusted her spikes making sure they were comfortable in her grip the stairs were empty they slid in one by one being as quiet as possible lacey had told them about what johnny called battle rattle and they had all made sure they didn't have anything clinking and clanging around on them they didn't have weapons and gear they had to use black tape on but they had each eliminated anything that could make unwanted noise they patted down the stairs quickly the lights from the emergency signs weak after two days of being constantly on by the time they hit the 12th floor they could smell the undead and by the time they got to the 8th they could hear them they hadn't run into any on the stairs and it seemed the dead only went down like they didn't want to climb up unless they had a reason like six savory bodies to gnash on they could hear them below quietly milling around and making small noises lacey held up a fist to indicate to the rest of them to stay put and she slipped down a few more flights until she could see over the railing to the mob below they were packed tight shoulder to shoulder in the faint green glow of the lights from about the fifth floor down hundreds how did so many wind up in the stairwells had a bunch of people tried to hide in here and all of them turned had the stairwell doors been jammed closed by survivors she had no idea why they wouldn't push open to the garage she knew from fire codes that were supposed to open outwards to the ground levels this side was blocked maybe the other was open she crept back up and motioned for them to climb they went back up four more floors before they thought it was safe to whisper and she told them what she'd seen they agreed they had to try the other side they were all nervous now sweating in the uncirculated heat of the building the fire doors had no windows so they didn't know what they would find when they were opened they couldn't risk tapping and bringing whatever was there screaming out of them and getting the horde from down below flying up the stairs their only choice was to chance it here on the 12th floor or climb so far up they could deal with any problem before the dead below could reach them decided to go up to the 20th that way there should be plenty of time to deal with any threats and get inside the hallway they got to the 16th and said screw it this is good enough they were all winded phil said this was the insurance agency's floor and none of them ever came in early better than even chance it would be deserted they sat down to rest all of them breathing heavy in the georgia heat and the long climb up they had just done it wasn't just the climb it was the tension the humidity the stale air that seemed thick and hard to breathe after a few minutes they were ready and as quietly as they could opened the door just enough to see in clear phil pulled it a little wider still clear they all slipped in and made sure it was latched behind them lacey hustled down the hallway to the big glass doors of the agency and tried them still locked they were good the slur was empty they continued to the other stairwell and followed the same procedures slipping down quietly until they ran into masses of them packed in tight around the fourth floor why didn't they push open the door and go out it was frustrating in a hurried conference with barely audible whispers they decided to return to the 16th floor they would have to regroup and figure out something else not all of the undead had wandered their way down as the crew was silently making their way back up the stairs they heard a snuffling keen above them then the sound of hurrying footsteps coming down it all froze eric had been at the tail end of the procession going down so he was at the front of the line going up go lacey stage whispered get to the next floor the creature above them heard the sudden sound of hurrying feet and let out a howling scream as it started racing towards them it was running so fast its feet got tangled up and it started tumbling face first down the stairs all they had to do was stay to one side as it bounced down in a series of arm flailing bone breaking falls the damage was done though from three stories below they heard the roar of a hundred voices scream up at them and the trembling of the stairs as they pounded towards the warm blood they now sensed nearby eric made it to the landing on the ninth floor and ripped the door open only to have a snarling she demon attack him with outstretched arms and gnashing teeth he fell backward as she landed on top of him death to his screams of pain and horror slashing deep gouges across his nose with her pretty white teeth she bounded up again as soon as she had drawn blood instantly searching for the next host to carry the seething viral nanobots she took a sharpened golf club straight through her blackened eye and into her seething brain more of the undead were starting to come out of the ninth floor corridor stumbling over the falling body of the woman and the screaming kicking bloody mess of eric phil slammed into the door with his 260 pounds and forced it closed on them snapping bones of the dead and the screaming eric he held it against the writhing creatures and bellowed at them to get to the next level he couldn't get the door to latch too much flesh and broken bone poking out against the frame below only two flights down and closing fast the tumbling racing mass of screaming undead were trampling each other in their haste to repopulate to infect to taste blood as lacy raced past him the last of them phil let the door fly open from the undead pressing against it he shoved the first three that came out as hard as he could down the stairs and into the path of the horde before he turned and ran for his life he could see them now only one landing below he ran up the stairs three at a time breathing like a great bellows knowing it could not pace them for more than one flight maybe not even that he rounded the turn in the stairs using the banister in his hand to propel him onto the landing and through the door lacy was holding open she pulled it shut fast but not fast enough that the lead zom didn't see her face as the door clicked closed he slammed into it raging and howling his fury and was joined by the rest of the hundreds forcing their way up the stairs other side phil cast we need to get a few more floors up got to get above them as they near the other door though they heard the screams of the undead coming from this stairwell also the infected knew where they were by the time they reached it the mindless pounding had started they all stared around at each other panting hard eyes wide they had lost eric to the dead hunger and everyone else seemed unscathed the doors were hold phil patted fire doors steel frames the two dumbed open them too many bodies crammed against them anyway lacey leaned against the wall hands on knees she laughed humorlessly and shook her head we're in the same situation we were in before phil who's on this floor could get lucky and it's a freeze-dried food company could we 10th floor this is the williams and williams floor the law firm roberts started towards the doors that opened into the suites and offices of the attorneys shall we see if they have better food than you guys did yes pragmatically a determined look in his face it turned out that the lawyers did have better food than the electronics firm their refrigerator was well stocked but two days without electricity and some of it had gone bad the few things in the freezer were thawed but hadn't spoiled they shared a half dozen frozen dinners cooked over a fire built in the hallway in front of the elevator doors they had pried one set of them open and the smoke flowed upward in the pitch black cavern and out of the roof vents 38 stories above them the pounding of the stairwell doors was muted but still present they didn't have much hope in them giving up and going away for a long time days maybe and that's if they kept quiet and didn't get them riled up again lacey stared out of the windows of the corner office that looked out over centennial park the ferris wheel and water fountains built for the 1996 olympics like most places in the south atlanta was a gun friendly city at the giant skyview ferris wheel that was now a permanent downtown fixture there is a sign that prohibits guns in the gondolas however they provide a storage locker for your weapon so you can ride legally they discovered this when they took a ride one day when gunny picked her up for lunch with this in the back of her mind lacey started methodically going through every desk drawer starting in the executive's offices the others joined her and they tore the place apart finding nothing maybe there were pistols in some of the safes but no one had any idea how to open them later as they watched the moon rise over atlanta in the conference room of williams and williams esquires and sipping on some of their fine louis xiii cognac the remaining survivors tried to come up with a plan that didn't entail them either being killed by the walking dead or slowly starving to death what about the roof carla asked i've been ziplining before maybe we can rig up something so we can slide over to the next building on the electric line or something no lines up there phil said all the power and phone lines underground come up through the basement make a parachute alex asked but that was instantly shot down who would try it first perhaps we can strip enough cables out of the ceilings make a strong rope and climb down if we can get back to the lower floors mr sato suggested they pondered that for a while but with all the undead milling around the streets they would be hard-pressed to get down get off the rope and get into the garage to find a suitable vehicle before they were overwhelmed those things were fast and no one present had a car even remotely rugged enough to go smashing through the city can we go through the heating vents to get to different floors robert asked maybe we can get down to the garage that way no too small phil answered but we can use the maintenance ladder in the elevator shafts there was a quiet uproar and everyone got excited they hadn't even considered it hadn't known there were ladders in the shafts phil smacked himself in the head wondering why he hadn't thought of it before and lacey reached over and lightly smacked him again just for good measure okay he said enthusiastically this is something we can work with all the elevator cars are on the bottom floor in the lower parking area they automatically go down there if there's a loss of power yes lacy chimed in and they have access panels on the ceilings right we can climb down open the panels get in the elevator and pry the doors open voila we're in the garage she beamed at them the fine french brandy already making her a little tipsy there were smiles and glasses held up in a toast all around the table but what if the garage is still full of them mr sato asked we'll cross that bridge when we come to it alex from accounting said and downed his snifter of hundred-year-old spirits like it was bottom shelf sauermash whiskey they slept comfortably that night they had full bellies and a soft glow from the three thousand dollar bottle of cognac that most of them couldn't afford the lawyers offices had soft leather couches and there were plenty of spare golf clothes and tailored suits hanging in the closets to use as blankets or pillows they had a plan that held promise and now they had a way to easily move between floors tomorrow they would get out of here chapter 25 the three flags truck stop day four everyone was up early the next morning coffee and breakfast being served at six people grabbing last minute items off of mostly bare store shelves the chuckers making one final load check to ensure everything was tight and secure they weren't sure what to expect but no one was planning on smooth sailing every vehicle had the best radios wire bender could tune for them fuel tanks were filled to the brim when breakfast was finished martha and cookie washed the dishes and tidied up much to the annoyance of cobb who wanted every hand to help with the final loading why not leave this mess for people to see she had told him what kind of pig you think i am he knew not to argue though and stomped around in a mood barking at everyone else to hurry up and get situated we're rolling at 0-800 he kept snapping if you're not in the convoy you're getting left behind the nervousness was in the air some taking it better than others as it grew closer to departure time gunny noticed a few people making a hurried dash for the bathrooms suddenly having to go in the worst way some of the non-truckers were teaming up with the truckers to ride with them and all of the ladies had been asked more than once most of the truckers that had seen real combat had fired shots and anger and were laughing the pre-trip jitters away they were cracking jokes and doing their best to appear unconcerned gunny had the paper map spread out on the big table and was going over the route again with sarah making sure that gps's were all taking them on the same roads cobb had given her one of the big truck gps units out of the store and tommy had welded up a bracket for it on her handlebars the problem with them though is those units didn't like to rot on the small roads and kept trying to direct them back to approve truck routes that was part of sarah's job as a scout she was watching out for major road blockages from accidents and making sure there were no low bridges they couldn't get under they didn't need that kind of surprise along the way and then have to back 14 trucks on a tour bus down a little windy road until they found a turnaround spot firecracker and jellybean were the only two drivers who wanted to head to their own houses to see if they could find family members firecracker had been lucky on the telephone when all this started he had told her to stay inside he would be coming together everyone else was single or from a big city east of the mississippi boston cincinnati orlando or the like they didn't mention wanting to try to get home and gunny knew that they had seen the videos and knew it was probably impossible maybe once they got to where they were going they could get rescue parties together they had decided to take the northern route to lakota it wound through a part of the country that was much less populated they were passing through salt lake city so they could check on firecrackers family it was only 500 miles and once they wormed their way past reno and sparks on the back roads they hoped the interstate would be passable all the way to the salty this just doesn't seem real scratch said i mean it's supposed to be the end of the world and we're all still eating home cooking and taking hot showers playing video games and watching movies kids are still bugging everybody for change for the vet's box gunny glanced up at the train tracks with their semi-trucks making the never-ending rounds he hadn't really noticed they were part of the background noise like the jukebox that never stopped since cobb had put it on free play he was gathering his road atlas and gps along with the other supplies he had on the table and before he could answer the lights flickered once and went out the hank williams that had been playing quietly in the background stopped mid-sentence it just got real he said countdown starts now until the nukes start blowing if the general's wrong and the hodgies don't get them shut down the ambient light wasn't much with the truck still blocking the windows but it was enough to get everyone moving towards the junkyard area gunny's truck was lead he had been out in the new world twice now and his peterbilt was a little stouter than some of the rest grizz had the only other heavy haul truck with a double frame but he had a lowboy trailer not so good for clearing a path because it was only a few inches off the ground he had a single piece of huge steel pipe over nine feet tall on it going to a construction site but he'd simply unchain the load and turn the wheel sharply when he was bringing it around to the junkyard the giant pipe rolled harmlessly out of the parking lot and stopped at the edge when it hit the soft sand much to the disappointment of everyone who hoped he would crush zombies with it they had discussed leaving the trailer but decided if they came across a good bulldozer or earth mover it would be nice to be able to take it with them might come in handy sarah had pointed out that it was low enough so she could bounce her motorcycle up on it if they had to plow through a big horde she could pass through the crowd without being stripped off her bike most of the guys had reservations about riding a motorcycle into this brave new world and had tried to talk her out of it but she was adamant she pointed out that it was infinitely more maneuverable than their trucks or a car and fast enough to get away from any danger she readily agreed that if things got too hairy she would load it up on grizzly's lowboy but she wanted to ride it was her decision and they needed to back off and stopped telling her what she could and couldn't do they finally did gunny climbed into the cab and started when he saw bunny sitting in the passenger seat she was smiling wearing a t-shirt from the children's rack she had taken a pair of scissors to looking good and drinking a beer hi she said bubbly as ever can i ride with you uh yeah if you want the bus was getting crowded she said and took a pull off her long neck he wasn't sure he believed that he was sure every unmarried driver there had asked her to ride with him it was eight o'clock in the morning and she was drinking a beer she would want to stop to pee every half hour he was trying to figure out a way to tell her he changed his mind he didn't need some drunk bimbo flashing cleavage in the truck with him and she needed to get out but in a nice way then the passenger door opened and he heard another woman's voice ms cruz i'm to be riding in this truck that big man they call grizz is about five chucks back he wanted me to ask you to ride with him as bunny hopped down happy to be away from the cop who had arrested her on numerous occasions deputy collins climbed in still in her uniform hair pulled back tightly in a bun do you mind she asked gunny smiled not at all i think you saved me from a major headache grizz really asked for her to ride with him not exactly she said a slight smile on her lips gunny nodded women's games he wanted to stay out of that he'd seen grizz giving the deputy an appreciative stare a couple of times and he was pretty sure she'd caught it too he bet the big teddy bear hadn't had the nerve to ask her to ride with him so this was her way of what payback testing him who knew they'd figure it out if it was meant to be cobb tell you to ride with me no she said i was on the tour bus and saw her climb in thought i would do you a favor and get rid of her i know she wouldn't want to be in the same truck with me we have a bit of history i appreciate it besides she added the president needs a bodyguard don't you start gunny groaned i'm just a placeholder till they find the right guy she just nodded thinking to herself they may already have the right guy she was still grateful that he had gotten her out of the holding cells where they've been trapped just help me negotiate through jams if you come to them watch for open areas things like that gunny said keep an eye out for big crowds of those things cobb's voice came over the radio which was surprisingly quiet no static at all in the background and gunny had the squelch all the way off take us out he said and gunny dropped it in gear as tommy opened the gate as soon as sarah zipped by on her bike and the truck started rolling past the front of the three flags the dozen or so zombies that had wandered in took off after them and the guys a few trucks back got to practice running them down for all of them except lars scratch and grizz it was a brand new experience but no one faltered they all did the grisly job and none of the walking dead was walking when the last truck rolled by chapter 26 by the time gunny got up to speed sarah was already out of sight the tail light disappearing towards the cut-off they wanted to use a few miles up the road cobb was riding with tommy bringing up the rear of the convoy after a few minutes sarah came in on channel 9 over the second cb wirebender had installed asking for a radio check most of the guys stayed on 1-9 cobb had given very direct orders the channel 9 was for the lead and tail elements if you wanted to blabber on about nothing then stay on 1-9 wirebender had installed a second radio along with the hams and antennas and gunnies and tommy's truck to be dedicated to the emergency channel so sarah wouldn't have to worry about being talked over before gunny could reach the mic the deputy had grabbed it and replied with a roger lead one we read you lima charlie what's your yardstick they went back and forth a few times made sure sarah was within range and her radio was working fine sarah knew most of the police radio protocols from riding around in her ambulance and picked up on the trucker terms the deputy threw in as they drove they experimented with range and the radio seemed to work fine over a three to four mile area anything over that and it got a little iffy she got the trucker lingo down pretty good gunny observed oh we listen in when there's nothing else going on how do you think we bust you guys dodging the scales she asked gunny couldn't tell if she was joking probably not making the first turn now sarah came over the air and now comes the fun part gunny said as he approached the turn off a few minutes later and started downshifting you got a name he asked something besides deputy collins she looked at him sideways hesitated before she answered gunny picked up on it quickly realized she probably thought he was hitting on her he flashed his wedding ring at her as he spun the steering wheel it's debbie she finally said a little grudgingly her eyes going back to scanning for danger gunny slowed at the bottom of the ramp and started nudging cars out of the way with the blade swinging wide into the oncoming traffic lane to have the clearance for the trailer he saw a few of them coming out of the strip mall parking lot running towards them at full speed the strange warbling screams that seemed to call to the others starting to come from their throats sarah was gone having zigged and zagged through the stalled and crashed cars gunny's trailer caught the front of a toyota that had been abandoned on the road and pushed it out of the way the front plastic bumper tearing free as the headlights shattered man we should have thought of the wide swings gunny said should have built some kind of deflector at the rear wheels of the trailer i hope i don't get a flat collins was staring in the mirror as he knocked it the rest of the way aside looks okay she said you moved it cleanly the first of the dozens streaming toward them made it through the maze of cars in the parking lot and started to fling themselves at the truck and its occupants heedless of the danger gunny had the rig straight now and grabbed another gear trying to ignore them and the bouncing of the tandems crushing them under the tires save some for us scratch yelled over the cb still on the main road and seeing everything that was happening ahead of him now that he was rolling in a straight line the blade easily knocked the few cars he couldn't avoid out of the way and he kept the speed to an even 20 miles per hour the jolts weren't too bad and it was fast enough to keep most of the runners falling behind let the other guys cut them down get in a little practice they wound through the secondary streets staying on the bigger roads and avoiding 90 degree turns where they could the crowd of zombies kept getting bigger more and more streaming out of the subdivisions running at them as fast as they could they were outpacing most of them but the faster ones kept trying to leap and grab onto the trucks most of them being ground to paste when they would miss and fall under the tires cobb and tommy had fallen back a little letting the rest of the convoy get ahead and then they hammered on it running down the growing horde from the rear as they chased the trucks slinging broken bodies yards into the air they only had about 15 miles of tulane before they made their way back to the highway running east sarah was at the top of the on-ramp with a clear view all around her waiting for them to arrive there were a couple of dead ones laying near her bike bullet holes in their heads road is clear as far as i can see she said over her helmet mike how fast can those big trucks roll better keep it under 60. tommy cut in the oversized tires you put on don't like speed too much 10-4 she came back spun her bike around and pulled a small wheelie as she took off the day passed by an uneventful boredom there weren't too many cars in this lonely stretch of highway as they passed exits sometimes there were some of the undead who would give chase but they were either too slow and would be easily cut down by the blades or chased cobb and tommy until they were out of sight they stopped twice during the long day to refuel the bike and let sarah stretch her legs and drink she made for a good scout and had alerted them to a pile up under the bridge that blocked the road and had them re-route over to the westbound side for a while martha and cookie had been utilizing the little kitchen on the tour bus and when she called lunch break everyone was pleasantly surprised at how good road food could be even in the middle of nowhere with no other vehicles in sight cobb had posted guards and they took turns eating gunny grizz and firecracker went over the maps for the umpteenth time checking their speed averages for an accurate eta there was a good scenic overlook area before skull valley with enough room for all the trucks to make a sort of wagon train defensive perimeter on one side with the steep cliffs on the other it was as safe a spot as they were likely to find to spend the night the trucks could stay there in an easily defensible position as a crew of them bob tailed into town with firecracker to check his family while making good time grizz said tapping the overlook that they were heading towards we'll make it there before nightfall if we can keep it up i want to be able to scout the area before it gets dark i could have made it in 20 minutes richard bastille said quietly but not loud enough for them to hear if somebody hadn't smashed my car that is he had been making snide comments like this every chance he got and not just about his ferrari he was a generally negative guy who was having a hard time adjusting to the new reality that his big shot days were over he had been a movie producer and liked to name drop whenever he was talking to anyone although he had been deferred to and treated with the respect that he deserved during the first hours of this nightmare all the people who had been his new friends had taken off in their cars the first day the rest of these people didn't seem to care who he was he had been rich successful and a part of the in crowd who went to all the right parties and knew all the right people now he was stuck with these truckers and mechanics and his gal pal still wouldn't have anything to do with him he just didn't want to believe the good life was over and no one would jump and grovel to him like he'd been used to most of his adult life he wasn't a complete ingrate he knew on some level that he was lucky to have fallen in with this crowd but he just wasn't used to having to deal with these kinds of people they had rough hands and rough manners they didn't respect him at all if he yelled at one of them that his coffee was too hot they would probably toss it in his face he knew he should be trying to make friends not alienate everyone but he couldn't help himself sometimes in his mind he had lost so much more than all of them had dan lost a 12 bedroom house overlooking the ocean they hadn't lost millions of dollars they hadn't lost the ability to sleep with a different wannabe starlet every night grizz turned to look at him but of course the guy wouldn't make eye contact and was busying himself acting like he was doing something important forget it gunny said and they went back to the maps determining the best route into and out of firecrackers house on the western part of town they had been there for about an hour and were making their final cleanup and checks to take off again when shaky hollered out from the rear where he had been standing guard we've got incoming i can see some on the road the people who had been riding in the tour bus dropped everything and ran for the doors to get back in leaving martha and kim the only ones left packing away the dishes grizz didn't even look up how many and how far he asked nonchalantly as the crowd at the bus tried not to push and shove and were barely able to contain themselves they're about a half mile off shaky said but there are quite a few of them when they realized the danger wasn't imminent a few of the men looked chagrined and stepped aside to let the ladies and children go in first richard bastille was already in his seat looking out of the barred window the vets continued to clean their plates feigning extreme indifference scratch stretched and yawned loudly cadillac jack pulled out his tobacco and slowly rolled himself a smoke lars pulled his hat down over his eyes and leaned back in the tire he was resting against it was a little game they all played had played their whole military careers we are not afraid we do not run we do not hide the jarhead marines were trying to outdo the dogface army guys and their uncaring attitudes the army guys going overboard to show the jar heads they were even more unconcerned but if you watched closely you saw their eyes dart to their weapons knowing exactly where they were and where their hands would fall on them even if they were looking in the opposite direction saw them casually brush their pockets double checking the number of magazines they had mentally weighing the pull of each one ensuring themselves each was fully loaded stabby watched all this unfold and sat back down smiling to himself feeling safe with these bunch of yankee show-offs the mechanics from tommy shop had never seen gi's in action out in the field and they were a little confused as they watched the guys just lay around when there were zombies coming the rest of the people on the bus were as confused and concerned as they were peanut butter just shook her head she'd been around these kind of men long enough to know it was only an act she winked at buttercup told her under her breath not to worry believe it or not it was all under control gunny wasn't immune to the game and he ambled slowly to where shaky was standing at the back of the convoy stopping by jack to bum a smoke shanky handed in the binoculars when he walked up they were about a half mile off now running at full speed stretched out as far as he could see he wondered where they had come from surely they weren't the same ones they had driven by miles ago they couldn't still be coming after them they had passed the last exit with any kind of zombie activity some 20 miles back a scratch he yelled back to the soldiers get your rig turn around take these guys out the three boys who were all riding in the big western star were on their feet and running towards scratch's truck before he had even finished yelling it was one of the few that didn't have a trailer scratch couldn't think of any reason to drag a whole load of squash with him he was hoping to find a wagon full of exotic cars he could hook up to and take along the zombies were untiring running at full speed and at a steady pace whittling down the distance they were mostly in single files so they would make easy targets for the big blade on the front of scratch's truck but they were disturbing in their single-minded intensity their unflagging efforts to get to fresh human flesh this would be a serious problem if every single zombie they passed started chasing them and never gave up it would have to send a truck back every time they stopped to do cleanup but that wouldn't always be an option if they got bogged down in the front and after a half hour hundreds came in from the rear he would worry about that later the rest of the guys had come up to see some of them grabbing the deer rifles from the pawn shop hall out of their trucks they watched as scratch aimed straight at them slamming 15 tons of heavy metal fronted with a wicked sharp plow into the line of undead at 50 miles an hour bodies exploded and parts went flying at those speeds he didn't have to worry about anything getting tangled up under his truck they watched him until he was around to ben and out of sight the sound of the big detroit diesel engine finally fading from earshot after a few minutes and he wasn't coming back gunny walked up to grizz's truck he had a big radio with a linear and he grabbed the mic and hailed the boys they came back faint but he could make out that they were still in the killing spree the line of stragglers went on as far as they could see that's enough gunny said get back here asap we're rolling out he heard their acknowledgement and circled his hand in the air to everyone watching man up he hollered rolling as soon as they get back the general wanted to check in every evening and gunny thought this single-minded determination the infected exhibited would be worth mentioning to him they needed all the survivors to know that even if they think they escaped the zombies will chase them for a long long time sarah took off on her cbr again as soon as she saw the blood and gore spattered truck come up over the rise the rest of the trucks pulled out and ran up through the gears as the convoy spread out over nearly a mile the next few hours of the trip were uneventful not even a wrecked car to skirt around i guess nobody had a sausage sandwich through here gunny quipped when deputy collins had commented on it there's a big mosque at salt lake she said her hands involuntarily clenching into fists i guess you're supposed to avoid it no payback allowed right gunny said let them decommission all the nukes after that it's open season of course if the survival numbers i've heard from cheyenne mountain are true they outnumber us probably ten to one if all the mosques are full of them a lot of them will be women and children she said they'll be easier to kill gunny cut his eyes over to her trying to see if she was joking she was so intense it was hard to tell but he didn't think she was as the sun went down behind them the scenic turnout where they were going to camp out was coming up and gunny grabbed the mic to let the rest of the convoy know he was glad for the diversion because he didn't know what to say to the deputy he wanted to right the wrong that jihadis had done but her cold logic was a little disturbing he'd never killed a woman or a child not a living human one anyway must be the kentucky gentleman in him coming out never hit a woman or a kid or execute one her hatred ran deep and he wondered if there was more to it than just the death of most of the world and the destruction of her country nah that was more than enough he supposed once they got set up scratch turned his truck around waiting for the inevitable followers to start showing up some of the trucks were getting a little low on fuel the bus critically so there was a truck stop on the outskirts of town but it was agreed that it would be best to hit it in the morning after they came back with firecrackers family then they could take off and put another 500 miles behind them hopefully getting near denver there was no need to fight zombies all night coming at them from both ends and the run into town should only take an hour or so grizz and cadillac jack were prowling through the food provisions examining different sized plastic bottles much to the annoyance of martha as gunny came back from getting rear guards set up he noticed martha with her hands on her hips giving them the evil eye they were checking to see which bottles would fit snugly at the end of the gun barrels making suppressors gunny asked yeah chris answered and the crowd that had been gathered around the small campfire mostly ignoring them perked up and started to pay attention you can make a silencer with a mustard bottle tina asked somewhat aghast deputy collins followed the proceedings with a slight frown on her face like she was trying to remember the exact code and subsection of the law that expressly forbade the manufacturer use or possession of such items but she was wise enough to know it no longer applied old habits die hard gunny wondered if she knew about the buckets of cocaine sarah and stacey had come and deered from lars or that stabby was slightly buzzing on it most of the time i saw that on the telly stabby said it really works it'll work until we can raid a good gun store and find some real ones grizz replied it's better than nothing for novo then he threw the frowning deputy a wink grinning at her in his boyish way cobb came back into the group after setting up the forward outpost saw what they were doing and told them to get the weapons out to the guards as soon as they finished cobbling them together they didn't know if the infected would chase after a gunshot like they would a truck engine but anything they could do to cut the chance of it the better off they would be later that evening after dinner had been eaten and everything had been stowed away in case they needed to make an emergency departure they gathered around a small fire and the talk turned to what they could expect when they reached the reservoir in oklahoma other than the four on guard duty this was the first time they had all sat around and discussed where they were going and what could be expected the disaster and the days leading up to their departure had been chaotic and everyone had been busy now belly's full of martha and cookie's spaghetti dinner a relative feeling of safety with the guards keeping an eye on things and the quiet night seeming to be void of danger they finally talked about the future some of the drivers had been in the area although no one could actually remember delivering to the little town itself they described a rich land with streams and a huge clear lake with plenty of fish and wildlife in the area according to general carson the soil was good and most crops would grow there bastille wanted to know what type of society it would be comparing it to middle ages england with peasants toiling the land while the high and mighty did nothing cobb voiced an opinion that if you don't pull your weight and do your fair share then you don't have any rights to take anything from the group this we commanded you that if any would not work neither should he eat preacher bible quoted then said that if they raided the food warehouses from the cities they would have more than enough canned and dry goods to last for years maybe even enough to last until the infected had finally withered away and died for good surely long enough for them to start growing their own crops again shaky was worried about medical care and wondered if the hospital generators would still be up and running hot rod said he knew a few tricks for gathering plenty of fish from the lake and he and jack got into a discussion of the best bait grizz and gunny kicked around the idea for making the area defensible maybe even having their encampment on an island in one of the big lakes maybe build some cabins on it it was a good evening a good first day on the road and everyone was optimistic for the rest of the trip even their resident naysayer richard bastille had finally said a few things that weren't completely negative the cowboys had brought out their instruments and had a good laugh as stabby updated their country songs in his death metal style on his way back to his truck gunny was cornered by the ss sisters and in her usual blunt way stacy said quietly you know shaky has diabetes no he never mentioned it why would he lose his job why do you think he came to the three flags for his dot exam well everybody knows doc would let things slide what's the big deal they looked at each other and then looked back at him and he got the distinct impression he was being dense about something she was looking at him like he was an idiot again he takes insulin shots gunny every day four times a day he was starting to see the picture now so we need to rate a drugstore or something get him more we can do that we'll find one tomorrow stacey looked exasperated sarah asked you've never known anyone with type 1 have you no was his simple reply it has to be kept refrigerated you can't just walk into a drugstore and grab some off the shelf once it gets hot it starts to break down there is a newer version available but he's so damn stubborn he wouldn't change to it it's much better but no matter what it's going to be touchy unless we can get to the right testing equipment stacy said in frustration gunny was starting to see why they were so concerned this would explain some of shaky's questions asking about the hospital generators still running and the general consensus had been most likely not they only had a few hundred gallon fuel tank for them at the most how much does he have left gunny asked not much stacy said he was supposed to get a script from doc when all this went down he doesn't know i know he's kept it hush-hush for years now but i would guess what he has in the fridge of his truck is his last little bit we can rate a pharmacy if we get a chance the weather isn't too hateful sarah said even if it's gotten hot it's better than nothing it's still useful so just keep that in mind let's try to hit one up soon lacey preparation day five most of them woke up to the smell of coffee lacey and carla had a small blaze going using the client's files and remnants of the bookcase they had sacrificed for yesterday's fire they had raided the cupboards in the lawyer's kitchen area and were boiling up a pot of cowboy coffee using a saucepan as the rest of the crew gathered around phil and robert pried open one of the other elevator doors and shined a flashlight into the gloom there it is phil used his maglite to point at the metal rungs mounted in a channel along the back wall it runs from the top of the building all the way to the sub basement wow said carla i thought it would be up front or maybe on the side how do you even get to it they'll shine the light down the shaft 12 stories to the basement about 180 feet his light was strong and bright but it didn't begin to cut into the darkness that far below the ladder was a good eight feet away you could probably jump and make it robert said maybe yeah if you were james bond carla said dismissively me i'd probably pull my arms out of their sockets even if i did make it past the cables running down the middle of the shaft lacy walked back over to the coffee giving it a stir making sure it didn't burn nothing worse in the morning than burnt coffee we can make something out of cable make a grappling hook or something she said they had a fairly decent breakfast of oatmeal granola and coffee the secretary is working for williams and williams must have had to pull some early morning shifts on occasion from what they found in the kitchen afterward they stacked up a few small bookcases on top of a secretary's desk and started pulling data cables out of the drop ceiling they were the easiest cables to get to having been added by contractors after the building was finished and held in place with just the occasional zip tie as soon as the guys had pulled enough carla and lacy set up a station on one of the desks and started stretching it all out determining exactly what they had to work with it took lacey a few tries to remember how it went but once she got started the muscle memory in her fingers took over and she showed carla a new way to braid i had to learn this when johnny wanted a paracord sling for one of his guns lacey said and then demonstrated to her how to intertwine the six cables together into one that was extremely strong i told him i'd get him one for christmas not realizing how much those things cost she continued as they worked the wires swiftly making two ropes needless to say i went to the army navy store and bought some paracord made it myself what a major pain but then he liked it so much he wanted more for the rest of his guns carla laughs softly her finger is flying now that she was in the groove what did you tell him i handed the rest of the paracord and told him to have fun she smiled one was enough probably took me seven or eight hours to learn how to do it and get it right how many guns does he have phil interrupted his ex-army isn't he lacey looked up from her work and said yes he is and i don't know exactly phil he doesn't like to open the safe when i'm around and i'll leave it alone i know a five or six that i caught him trying to sneak in telling me some nonsense about trading something for them getting a good deal she smiled again and shook her head he thinks he's slick i let him think he has secrets but i bet my bottom dollar the gun safe is nearly full he's been beaten around the bush saying it might be a good idea to pick up another one if you catch a good sale how many does it hold asked mr sato how big is the safe biggest one they made lacey replied about as big as a side-by-side refrigerator freezer they all just looked at her in disbelief that manny really carla asked what does he do with them all lacey felt a little defensive she knew johnny didn't need 50 guns but they were something he enjoyed and he never let them go hungry or want for anything to feed his hobby so she didn't see any harm in it shoots them some of them anyway he goes to the three gun competitions she said but he's got all kinds summer antiques and old western guns you know collector's stuff they nodded their heads in understanding people collecting stuff even guns they can understand everybody collected something anything from pokemon to ceramic frogs it didn't get much more american than that they went back to their work pulling and braiding and passing the morning away in quiet conversation getting to know one another bouncing ideas off each other for their next step would they stay together or split up once they got vehicles out of the parking garage what would they do if the parking levels were full of the undead did any of their family members survive should they all stick together and try to rescue them where was a safe place to go by lunchtime they were satisfied with what they had two long and very strong ropes with knotted handholds every few feet they planned on using one as a throw rope grappling onto the ladder and the other as a safety tied off to the person and something unmoving in the office just in case the plastic ropes were solid but kind of slick it would be easy to lose your grip if you weren't careful when swinging out across the abyss to the ladder mr sato and robert said they would figure out lunch while the rest of them went to search through the offices again this time looking for anything that would make a good strong hook with the triple wrap shelving brackets they modified and bellies full of some spicy concoction from lunch they gathered around the open elevator doors and started trying to throw the hook across the gulf to latch onto the ladder after a few tries they got it to snag on and despite phil's hard tugs it held they had drawn straws at lunchtime to see who would go down first and robert tied the safety rope around his waist as he sat on the edge of the drop off he wrapped the braided wire that was hooked onto the ladder eight feet away firmly around his arm and with a few quick breaths slid out into the emptiness with phil holding him back with the safety rope he didn't slam into the far wall but slowly slid over to it as the rope was let out when his feet made contact with the rungs there was a quiet cheer from those gathered at the open doors he wrapped his arms around it once he made contact and stayed like that for a moment getting his rapid breathing under control they only had the one flashlight and he double checked that it was firmly in its holder borrowed from fill and then untied the safety rope and started down they watched heads leaning out over the darkness as he disappeared they soon lost sight of him and then even the sound of his feet on the metal ladder every so often they would see the light shine down in the blackness as he checked his progress then finally saw it as a speck of white moving around on top of the elevator car they listened thought they could hear the sound of the roof access panel being removed then the light disappeared completely he must be inside the elevator they all assured each other robert had a sturdy piece of flat railing they had pulled out of the ceiling and used it to pry open the doors on the car using the flashlight he could see the doors of the sub-basement plainly marked b4 he listened with his ear to them but heard nothing quietly as he could he started to pry open the doors just enough to see out blackness four stories below ground with no electricity and the darkness was nearly as complete as it was in the elevator shaft he switched on the light and a snarling face was illuminated a hand reaching for him through the gap an inhuman screech echoed through the underground garage as it shoved its arms to the opening forcing it wider robert screamed and backpedaled dropping the light and jumping for the opening in the ceiling of the elevator the undead thing squeezed through the doors and launched itself at the dangling legs illuminated in the rolling beam of the flashlight robert screamed again as he felt the hands tearing at him pulling him back down they heard his screams from 12 stories up first a fear than a pain then nothing chapter 27 skull valley utah day five it was four am when the gentle tapping came on gunny's sleeper he heard deputy collins come awake on the bunk above him and told her it was okay his turn for guard duty guess being president didn't get you off cobb's guard roster he thought sourly to himself he dressed hurriedly grabbed his ar and strapped on his glock and double checked his magazine loadout he was relieving bastille and bunny was coming on to relieve grizz cobb had made out the roster to have one civilian and a vet on duty each two-hour shift it was up to the old hands to bring the civilians up to speed on what was expected of them how everyone could die including them if they goofed off or nodded off she stumbled up to the outpost still half asleep and sat down on a rock within a minute her head was drooping gunny poured out a cup full of cold water and threw it in her face she sputtered and jumped to her feet dropping the 22 rifles she'd been cradling between her legs what what was that for she demanded sleeping was gunny's simple answer don't do it on duty after she had calmed down he went over her duties explaining more than once that it didn't matter if she thought it was for now it had to be done once they got to lakota got things secured things would be different by the end of their shift at six with the smells of breakfast in the air she had a pretty good understanding of the basics of military life she realized the importance of each person in the cog and how they all made it work gunny knew a little more about her she had been an exotic dancer and tended to drink too much she and collins had gone around and around a few times and she always wound up spending the night in jail when they tangled she supposed it was lucky she had this last time otherwise she would have ended up like everybody else she knew dead and still walking around when squeak and preacher relieved them they headed back to the trucks and got in line for chow taking the cups of hot coffee gratefully by seven everyone was fed and gunny had gathered his crew to head into town with firecracker to see if his family was still alive cabba tried to talk him out of it said he was kinda too important to be running off on a dangerous mission gunny had said that if i don't help them then they won't help me when i go to atlanta and it's a hell of a lot more dangerous than salt lake stabby was already hopping from one foot to the other anxious to get going scratch was cleaning his fingernails with the long shank he had in his prosthetic lars had snagged a pair of drop leg holsters from the pawn shop smash and grab and had matching berettas tucked into them along with the two in kydex hosters on his belt you look like a rastafarian neo scratch said all he needs a leather trench coat nah laura said you can call me the full gun kid you ladies get over here cobb growled out and what's with the sunglasses hollywood you ain't got no fans around here lars quickly took his shades off not wanting to get on the rough side of top's tongue this early in the morning hollywood scratching stabby snickered fit you man firecracker was emotional when they all walked up to go over last minute plans fellas i can't thank you enough he said i know you all volunteered i know you don't know my wife for kids but i sure thank you he had a little more to say but he was starting to get choked up and scratch brushed him off saying we're only going because we want to kill zombies we've got some new weapons to try out they could hear bastille grumbling about the best killers they had going off on a fool's errand leaving everyone unprotected but no one was paying any attention to him preacher came over and said a prayer for their safe and quick return when they were mounting up gunny had dropped his trailer and was taking his rig and firecracker was driving his kenworth they waved their goodbyes and were soon out of sight of the encampment firecracker took the lead zipping towards his house on the back roads the plan was to go in fast and hard get his family if they were still hiding at home and get out before the inevitable followers caught up with him the ride in was quick and gunny took out a few of the zombies they saw running after the lead truck whenever he could the suburbs weren't as bad as they had envisioned either everyone had already left for work or they had turned inside their houses and were still trapped there unable to figure out how to operate a door they hoped that was the case firecracker hadn't been able to reach his wife since the first day but had sent her text messages hoping they would go through he had told her he was coming and here he was he laid on the air horn as he pulled up and jumped out sprinting for the door lars from scratch both hopped out ran halfway up the drive and shoulder their m4s as they spread out to either side of it ready to lay down covering fire so the family could run out to the truck gunny and stabby flew by them and made the next right circling the block planning to start taking down any followers with the blade firecracker hit the door at a dead run pounding on it mary open up he shouted the door remained closed the curtains on the windows not moving he pounded his fists on it again as scratch started taking head shots at some of the runners coming towards him but they ain't answering they ain't there lara shouted starting to take out runners on his side well maybe they're in the basement he can't hear us firecracker yelled back and fumbled the keys in his hand searching for the right one scratch shook his head as he caught a glimpse of him nearly dropping the keys a little pissed off that he hadn't even thought past yelling out her name gunny rounded the last turn and floored it trying to take out as many of the mob that had started chasing them as he could before they got too close bodies bounced off of the blade and went splattering through the lawns but he couldn't get the ones not on the road not the hundreds he saw streaming down the street but peeling off into the driveways and front lawns chasing the sound of rifles over the sound of the big diesel as he plowed through a hundred on the road fifty in the grass ran past him heading directly for lars and scratch who were still aiming for the heads as quickly as they could where had they all come from where have they been hiding i can't hold scratch yelled a few seconds later and lars saw they had made a fatal mistake they were too far away from the truck to make it back before the horde of screaming keening monsters would shred them to pieces lars took a fast glance over his shoulder and hollered to the house to the house as firecracker finally managed to get in and they both ran for their lives across the lawn and into the open door slamming it behind them gunny spun around at the next intersection and banged gears as fast as he could heading back to the house there were already 30 or 40 of them in the yard and on the porch hammering on the door he grimaced as he realized what they had done taken cover inside he bounced up over the curb and slammed into the crowd ripping bodies and sending them flying he took out a dozen and a few more started chasing him but there were still too many attacking the house in a mad frenzy it was only a matter of time before they smashed a window or the door caved under the relentless assault firecracker ran through the house yelling for his wife screaming out his children's names no one answered there were no notes on the table of the fridge as he ran through the basement was empty he pounded up the stairs three at a time empty nothing the mob outside were trying to throw themselves against the door but with so many bunched up it was an uncoordinated effort at best gunny was plowing through the yard again blasting the air horn trying to get them to follow him and away from the house but they were intent they knew they had their prey cornered and the madness of flesh so close was driving them into a frenzy of wanton abandon the door shuttered in its frame and lars ran into the living room and started dragging the couch towards the entryway scratch joined in and they wedged it between the front door and the stairs making a solid barrier that couldn't be breached firecracker was near meltdown mode they saw they're not here i told him i was coming i told them to stay here he said over and over still searching the house lars looked at scratch you got the handheld he asked scratch just shook his head thought this was going to be an easy extraction man should have known better but a snafu they could hear gunny honking his horns and doing his best to kill those that he could in the lawn they needed to get out and get out fast with all the noise they were making every zombie in salt lake city would be headed their way soon can we blast past him get back to the truck lars asked well maybe if you had an m60 scratch said we don't have time to pick them all off and don't have the firepower to wade through them they heard a window break and both immediately ran for the stairs firecracker come on lars yelled and splattered the forehead of some brunette trying to par her way through the window they're not here they're not here i told him to be here he kept saying he's losing it lars said i thought he spent time in the stands probably never left the green zone damn fabits scratch shot back they heard gunny make another pass at the mob in the front yard and knew their time was getting short when they heard another window break they both yelled for firecracker to come upstairs and they finally saw him climb over the couch and run up towards him that's when they noticed he didn't have a gun nothing not even a club or a knife they moved aside as he came up then immediately went back to their positions at the top of the stairs ready to shoot anything that came into view we can hold him here until they're all dead or the ammo runs out scratch said how many of them you think there are more than than bullets probably lars said firecracker can gunny get alongside the house can we jump out of a window onto his truck i don't know he said and stood there behind them but go check i wasn't asking to pass the time lars yelled at him and firecracker took off as he and scratch started targeting the bloody infected that had made their way through the shattered living room windows gunny had been trying to raise them on the radio but never got a reply as he cursed and swung around again this time nearly tearing the porch off the house he was trying to whittle their numbers down before they could crawl through the broken windows look stabby pointed with his wickedly sharp claws and gunny followed with his eyes to see what he was supposed to be looking at firecracker was waving to them from a window at the end of the house pointing to the ground directly below gunny got it as he roared through another half dozen and swung around again into the neighbor's yard clipping the front of their camaro with the blade so much for those flower gardens he thought the turf was getting pretty churned up now with the body parts bloody guts and spinning tires he flipped the differential lock switch essentially giving him four wheel drive and aim for the upstairs window he slid up alongside it getting as close to the house as he could it wasn't much of a drop for them only a few feet to the top of his sleeper and he heard firecracker yell he's here to the guy still firing gunny lowered his window and started blasting away with his glock at the surrounding mob trying to claw their way towards him all the while listening anxiously to hear the team land on his roof go go go lars yelled as they backed into the master bedroom he had switched to his berettas letting the carbine dangle across his back on its single-point sling the onslaught had slowed some as the snarling horde struggled over the bodies on the stairs and the narrow hallway made for a good killing field when the first gun emptied he started firing with his off hand but he wasn't getting head shots the nine millimeter rounds only slowing them making them stumble as soon as they backed into the room scratch was there slamming the door behind him and grabbing the heavy king-sized bed to drag it over the door shuttered as a body slammed into it and lars put two more through the thin wood at head level then grab the other side of the bed and help slide it against the door he saw firecracker on the roof of the truck waving at them to hurry and he told scratch to go telling him i'm right behind you he quickly dropped the empty mag and sent a fresh one in thumbing the catch to let the slide go home he ran to the window and jumped a couple of feet over to the sleeper and crouched down trying to find something to hold on to as soon as gunny heard the third body drop onto the top of his truck he heard them all start yelling for him to go go go no family had been passed through the window no wife no kids no time to worry about that now he eased out the clutch and accelerated slowly trying not to throw them off the rear tire tearing up sheets of vinyl siding as he rolled along the side of the house the crowd of dead followed them jumping and reaching trying to get to the warm bodies hold on gunny yelled and bounced back into the street shifting gears and picking up speed firecracker was halfway down the back of the sleeper using the headache rack to hold on for dear life as the pete tilted this way in that through the yards and over the curb lars threw himself down flat looking for anything to keep him from flying off and scratch simply reared back and stabbed a hole in the roof with his sharpened spike lars grabbed onto him and they rode it out until the ride got smooth again on the blacktop gunny stopped about a half mile ahead to let them all slide off and pile back into the cab but the horde kept increasing in size every turn they made there seemed to be more running between the houses and taking up the chase we need a long open stretch he said some place we can run them far enough and get turned around and come back through them we need to get back to your truck firecracker knew a place and guided gunny towards it he had tears rolling down his face and gunny didn't ask can only guess at what they had found inside the house they were nearing the outskirts of suburbia and the roads were becoming rural so he quickly went through all 18 gears then wound it back down looking for a wide drive to get turned around plan b gunny said we're far enough away they should all be out of your neighborhood i'll take out as many as i can on the way back in we stop at your truck and you guys hop over and let's head back on the same path kill any more that we can before we run back up the mountain they went in there gunny firecrackers said over the splat of bodies bouncing off of the blade they were alive i talked to them i told them i was coming they were all quiet any number of things could have happened she could have gotten scared and ran out of the house she could have gone to the neighbors for safety maybe she thought she needed to run to the store for milk how do you tell a guy to forget about them they were gone when you really didn't know anything maybe she went over to her mother's place firecracker said as he stared intently out of the windshield hope blooming in his voice she must have it's only a few blocks from the house let's check there gunny looked over at lars stabby and scratch a question in his up raised eyebrows shrugged shoulders a nod okay man we'll go by there but no screw ups this time you guys have fresh mags swap out your empties hurry up keep your eyes peeled for people waving at us from the windows if anyone is alive in that neighborhood they should have enough sense to try to flag us down when we come back these trucks ain't quiet and we made enough noise to wake the dead stabby and scratch groaned at the weak joke as they raided the box of loaded magazines in the sleeper just when i thought there was some hope for you lars said and shook his head chapter 28 they decided to swing by mom's house since it was on the way before they got to firecrackers truck just to see if there was anyone there it would buy them a little time from the following runners if they did need to evacuate some people checking the mirrors and seeing they didn't have any followers in sight gunny brought the truck to a quick stop in front of the house firecracker had pointed out the three were out of the cab and taking up defensive positions as stabby took high watch from the truck and firecracker ran towards the opening door of the house she was there she was there a dark-haired woman ran onto the porch and they embraced with whoops of joy let's go gunny yell time for that later he was on one knee scanning back the way they had come scratch fired off a single shot towards the front of the truck and firecracker broke the embrace and ran towards the house to grab his kids get in the truck he yelled at his wife i've got them they were standing in the open door his six-year-old son holding a smaller sister's hand come on he said and swung his daughter up on his arm grabbing his son's hand with his other and starting to run towards the idling semi stabby was waving them on yelling and pointing i see some coming hurry up lads gunny heard the quick sound of rifle fire from lars but kept scanning his area still nothing he heard firecracker yell what are you doing get in the truck and took a swift look over his shoulder and saw the woman running back towards the house i've got to get mom she can't walk she cried as she flew past her husband and back to the porch firecracker continued towards the truck to put his kids in and stabby jumped down i'll help her get them loaded up and he took off after her into the house the popping from scratch's carbine was starting to get fairly consistent and he heard lars picking up the pace too still nothing in his sector still no followers catching up to them yet he yelled back towards him how we doing boys can you hold them magazine lars yelled and there was a short pause in the sound of the rounds going off yeah we're good scratch yelled back then magazine himself once and twos lars shouted we got this for now gunny kept scanning butt stuck to his shoulder he knew when they came in view from his direction it wouldn't be in ones or twos it would be a mob he couldn't hear anything but they didn't seem to scream unless they spotted prey they would just be running silently never tiring never getting short of breath and never getting a stitch in their side he saw the first one come around a slight bend in the road a man with a bathrobe flying out behind him and wearing pajama bottoms the slippers that had probably been on his feet long gone gunny sighted in through iron sights and squeezed red mist flying out of the back of its skull as its feet flew up and out from under him they're coming gunny bellowed we've got to go now there were more and he was right not coming in ones or twos but a bunched up mob sprinting for all they were worth cutting down the distance between them quickly another fast glance over his shoulder showed him the children were in the truck looking out of the window towards the house stabby was half dragging half carrying an older woman and firecracker was running back towards the truck with his wife in tow he breathed a sigh of relief this was going to work he sighted in on the crowd who were starting to scream now that they had their prey in sight and started popping heads he ran through most of his magazine dropping at least 10 and causing the rest of the crowd to stumble and slow they were only a few blocks away now and he yelled let's go to the truck at the top of his lungs and he let the m4 fall on its sling and sprinted back towards the others what the hell were they doing lars and scratch were both shooting steadily towards runners coming in from the front but firecracker his wife stabby and the old lady were all still standing outside the truck waving frantically at the kids inside before he took three more ground-eating steps towards him he realized what must have happened the kids looking out of the window towards their running parents had pushed down the door lock he kept running aiming for the driver's side door but there were already five or six of them making a b-line for it and they would beat him there he brought the carbine up to his shoulder at a full run and emptied the magazine but none of them went down zero headshots he could hear scratch yelling at the kids get down get down get down he was going to shoot the window out but they were too scared to move just kept crying and reaching out for their parents not even realizing what they had done it was too late they were being surrounded even if the door opened right now there wasn't enough time to get all six people into the cab before half of them were pulled down by the undead masses back to the house gunny roared as he ran by them grabbing the other side of the old woman stabby was still supporting and they both flew up the sidewalk carrying her her feet barely touching the ground firecracker pulled his wife after them with scratch and lars trying to keep the horde of zombies off their backs gunny sent stabby reeling off towards the living room at the old woman and was waiting with his shoulder against the door ready to slam it as soon as lars cleared the threshold he no sooner got the deadbolt turned when he felt the first impact against the door it wouldn't hold long but probably longer than the windows the house was full of them big picture window in the living room overlooking the porch big windows in the kitchen big windows in the bedrooms all the curtains were closed and gunny shushed everyone don't make any noise he whispered loudly if they don't see us maybe they'll settle down here forget we're here the door shuttered violently the single-minded infected had seen them come in through it and they continued to try to follow gunny motioned towards the kitchen table indicating to lars and scratch to bring it over they hurried quietly pulled the chairs away from it and hustled it back to him settling it in on its side against the door and the first riser of the staircase it was a little short so they filled in the gap with a few books kicking the last ones in tightly to form a solid barrier against the door making it impossible to open the old lady lay on the couch pale and strained from all the exertion and firecracker was trying to calm his wife telling her the kids were fine the truck was armored the zombies couldn't get in perimeter check gunny said stabby upstairs make sure they don't see if many of the windows lars and scratch split off going in opposite directions to circle the inside of the house and gunny went to the back door see if there was an escape there there wasn't there must have been hundreds by now all the zeds in the immediate area drawn to the gunfire and the mob that had followed the truck this was a disaster gunny raged it himself they had two close calls on just this one simple mission dumbass mistakes had been made by him by firecracker by his wife by the kids he was going to get them all killed if the mistakes didn't stop that all came back on him though he was the one calling the shots he knew firecracker didn't have any combat time he had never left the green zone when he had been in afghanistan the kids didn't know any better and the wife well she was a civilian she didn't know what they knew didn't have any experience now the safety of the truck might as well be a million miles away none of them had radios on them it was supposed to be a quick in and out they had plenty of ammo more than enough to snipe the hundred or so outside then walked through the piles of dead to get back into the truck but every shot fired would draw more towards them they all carried m4 variants and they were loud they couldn't blast their way out the door shuttered again but it wasn't budging the ones swarming around the back of the house weren't really trying to find a way in they were just the overflow from the undead in the front still trying to go through the door lars and scratch came back both started shifting magazines around in their pockets moving empties to the offhand side making sure the loaded ones were where they wanted them and facing the right way they hadn't brought any extra ammo just the loaded magazines it was only supposed to take a minute maybe two to get them out of the house and into the truck indefensible lars said yeah concur too many windows they'll break sooner or later just from the sheer weight of so many of them pressing against the house said scratch agreed said gunny as stabby came quietly down the stairs all clear up here he said the truck is surrounded but if the kitties would get away from the windows maybe go take a nap those bloody rotters would lose interest right hope they have the same courtesy for us let's get upstairs fortify the stairwell hopefully go away in a few hours lars and firecracker went to help the old woman up the stairs as his wife rung her hands and quietly cried gunny fell for her she had managed to keep her family safe for nearly a week and when the cavalry shows up to rescue them her kids are locked in a truck surrounded by monsters and she's in a house about to be overrun by them he went over to her to offer a few words of reassurance that the kids would be fine the truck was impossible to get into when he noticed a bandage on the old woman's leg her house dress had pulled up some as they carefully stood her on her feet to guide her to the stairs hold it he said and changed his path from the wife to the mom what happened to her leg he asked pulling the floral print dress up to the woman's knees when lars and firecrackers saw it both of them quickly set her back down on the couch lars put the back of his hand to her forehead she's burning up he said she was breathing fast and shallow barely coherent gunny grabbed the bandage and ripped it off exposing a half-circle bite mark of infected flesh trickling blood angry and red with black runners leading away from it when did she get bit he whirled on firecracker's wife a little more forcibly than was probably necessary his eyes were angry and she hesitated still sobbing when gunny asked again dropping the old woman's dress back over her ankles he stood to face the idiot woman who may have just gotten them all killed over an old lady who had already been served a death sentence this this morning she stuttered she went out to check the mail and a little kid attacked her gunny was stunned how utterly ridiculous they were all going to die because some ditzy old lady wanted to check the mail they were all staring at her with the same incredulous looks on their faces there was no one out on the streets when she went we thought it would be okay she said defensively that junk mail cost her life lara said yeah probably ours too scratch added but don't you have the medicine she asked plaintively it was a small bite nothing major there was the sound of breaking glass on one of the bedrooms the big picture window overlooking the backyard would be gunny's guess upstairs he said and they didn't have to be told twice firecracker's wife was pulling against him towards her mom she needs help she said she just didn't get it how could she she hadn't seen what they had go gunny said i'll take care of her and firecracker finally drug her up the stairs as soon as their feet went around the landing midway up the stairs gunny didn't waste any more time the old woman was barely breathing the poison killing off the last of her humanity he flipped her roughly onto her stomach and pulled the gerber from his leg sheath he didn't hesitate plunged it in at the base of her skull like the sisters had shown him it sank to the guard and he gave it a little jiggle before pulling it out you coming came a stage whisper from up the stairs gunny slipped over to the bedroom peeking in from the side of the door he wanted to know if they were coming in or was the breaking glass just incidental to the milling crowd it wasn't incidental there were many hands trying to claw their way in and he heard the sound of another window breaking elsewhere in the house he ran for the stairs and as soon as he cleared the top the boys muscled a mattress into the stairwell and down towards the landing essentially erecting another wall next came box springs and a dresser to wedge it all in place and by then the first floor was full of screaming infected all rampaging up the stairs and trying to force their way to the living they all started grabbing whatever they could and filling up the stairwell with anything that wasn't bolted down firecracker's wife's face was still tear streaked but she hadn't asked about her mother gunny could only assume she was quickly schooled on the new facts of life in the few minutes it took him to take care of business downstairs when everything they could toss down the stairwell had been thrown into it she ran over to the window looking out over the street at her kids in the truck they were still at the window looking out and she caught their attention and waved to them trying to give a mother's comfort from 50 yards away gunny did a quick look around the upstairs at the horde below that could be seen out of every window maybe 200 and they were still screaming and keening drawing more can the boy read gunny ass firecracker some came as reply mary's been teaching them why they need to get back in the sleeper out of sight out of mind they should leave them alone if they just stay quiet he reads dr seuss he knows all the words to most of them mary said make a son big enough he can read tell him to hide gunny said that wall of junk won't hold them off of us for long the kids can last a long time there's food and water in the cabinets the guys from the camp will come looking in a day or so if we're not back they'll find them he turned away before she could see the lie in his eyes nobody was coming after them that wasn't part of the plan if two trucks and some of the best men were lost on a simple rescue operation on the outskirts of town cobb wouldn't be sending anyone else on a suicide mission he caught the eyes of the others as they stationed themselves at the head of the stairs gun at the ready they knew the truth they had known there was a chance of this being a one-way trip when they volunteered to go it just seemed so stupid to go out like this to have such a simple thing a door locked by a couple of frightened kids be their downfall the mattress below was slowly being shredded the screaming horde would tear it apart inch by inch until they got to the stacks of tumble furniture and start tearing it apart one piece at a time by then the boys would be taking careful aim at heads and stacking up corpses for the rest of them to have to tear their way through but they would slowly but inevitably they would make it through all the barriers placed in their way there was no running water but the fresh water tank on the back of the toilet had a good four gallons in it and they all took turns drinking thirstily from the toothbrush cup mary had finished her sign printed in simple words on the backs of animal posters that had been hanging on the wall the kids were out of sight and hiding waiting for rescue they had all circled around the upstairs rooms more than once looking for a way out the closest house was too far away to jump wishing for a helicopter didn't seem to be doing any good mary had apologized so often and with such heartfelt sorrow they all felt bad about blaming her and kept telling her it wasn't her fault each one trying to come up with some way the whole fiasco was all their doing and the responsibility should be placed squarely on their shoulders the boys kept trying to outdo one another to take the blame and some of the reasons were bordering on ridiculous especially stabbies he had declared he was completely at fault because he had been distracted by the three indians in silver tennis shoes teaching him sign language as they quietly laughed at his antics he suddenly stopped attic he said ah look there isn't one lars said realigning his magazines for the hundredth time on the nightstand of course there's one stabby said this roof ain't flat now is it he's right gunny said and sprang up from sharpening his gerber chapter 29 gunny jumped up on the narrow banister at the head of the stairwell and balanced himself with one hand on the decorative newell post going up to the ceiling he poked his gerber through the drywall over his head he smiled down at them and then started tearing out chunks of it making a hole wide enough to fit through the two by six as it was nailed to it really wasn't an attic just an insulated crawl space only about four feet tall in the center it would be hot and itchy with all the open batted insulation that it was better than being dinner for a party of 200. it's good he called down over the snarls and howls of the zombies hurry and get up here before they break through maybe they'll give up if they don't find us one by one they scrambled up the narrow opening with helping hands from above and below until the last man was up and they covered the hole as best they could with strips of insulation the zombies were still battling each other and the stacked furniture trying to get through but they were packed so tightly forward progress had nearly ground to a halt with the 90 degree turn in the landing the crush of bodies from below couldn't force the improvised barrier they were pushing against the support wall of the house not the flimsy wall of cheap wood from heaped furniture maybe should have stayed down there a bit longer scratch crumbled that'll take him days to get through and i'm allergic to fiberglass no might stabby said it'll go like a damn bursting once they get a handhold of a chair leg or something it'll all come crashing down gunny hunchbacked his way over to the end of the roof and tried to see out of the aluminum gable vent it was futile all he could do was look down at the ground the way the slats were he pulled his knife out again and started working it around the edges bending the soft aluminum frame away from the screws that had been shot into it years ago it was slow work if he didn't want to make a lot of noise but there was nothing else to do one more avenue of escape another chance to live five more minutes if they got out on the roof they hadn't been up there for more than half an hour or so and scratch announced he had to take a dump you couldn't have gone before laura's ass working on the other gable end of the house please tell me you can hold it stabby said i don't want to be smelling martha's cooking coming out of your backside i'm going back down scratch said i planned on squatting up here with you clowns they pulled the insulation back from the hole in the ceiling but what they saw stopped them hands had finally pulled the mattress apart enough to reach through and they were scrabbling for anything to grab the first of them was halfway through the pile pulling and fighting its way to the top of the stairs crap scratch said and quietly put the insulation back stabby snickered at his choice of words and got the bird flipped at him for his troubles i really gotta go man scratch whispered cutting a glance towards mary who was sitting next to her husband a few feet away calm now talking quietly with firecracker gunny hunchbacked his way back over to the group plan b he announced i thought retreating to the house was plan b okay plan c then gunny started but was interrupted by stabby was it plan c barricading ourselves upstairs fine gunny tried again getting exasperated plan d i thought that was climbing up here laura's chimed in the three boys grinning would you friggin shut the hell up gunny growled next time i'm bringing bastille and bunny with me better than you useless tits that got them chuckling and scratch finally got serious what's up boss the electric and phone lines run right over the top of the truck he said all i have to do is shimmy out there on him drop down on the roof get in on the driver's side and lead this pack off if you stay quiet they should all chase the truck i'll get turned around up the road do the zombie snowplow thing and pull up next to the porch you guys just hop over and climb in can of corn a what stabby asked he'll build a binocular for easy as pie scratch said they were looking at him like he'd lost his mind you got a better idea you want to stay up here and smell what scratch is planning on leaving for us over in the corner that got them falling all over themselves agreeing that it was a genius plan best one ever it should have been plan a all along and they started duck walking their way over to the end of the house they climbed out onto the roof as quietly as they could the milling crowd around the house never looking up now that he was out there and looking at it gunny was having second thoughts about his idea he wondered how long the horde would stay gathered around the house before they wandered off basing what he knew about them from the three days at the truck stop probably never unless they were drawn away by something he wasn't going to stay cooped up in an attic for days with no water in the hopes they would wander off on their own if they didn't they would be doing this same thing in a few days but weak from thirst and hunger best to do it now they were all fresh he tested the wires going into the storm head putting as much weight as he could on them without fully committing they seemed to be solid he handed his rifle up to stabby then turned to scratch if i fall clear me a path if i don't make it don't let me become one of them he looked directly into his eyes he held his gaze until he saw the man nod all jokes aside for the moment no guts no glory he thought then triple checked his glock making sure it wasn't going to slide out of his holster he eased out onto the wires hooking his feet over the cable just like basic training and started to slowly move his way towards the truck he made careful movements trying not to make any sudden jerks that might alert the horde to dangling meat just over their heads the wire was starting to sag lower and lower the farther away from the house he got and the boys had all taken a knee on the porch steadying their rifles and ready to start blasting if anything went south gunny didn't look down just ahead hand over hand sliding its feet cutting down the distance with each pull it had been a bunch of years since he had done anything like this and holding onto a steering wheel all day didn't do much for building muscles his arms were already aching and he wasn't even halfway the cable was dipping lower and he was still on the easy part of the crawl once he started going uphill it was going to get a whole lot harder he started the uphill part with a mask below him still trying to get into the house from this vantage point he could see through the broken windows and it was already nearly full the pull was getting harder he really had to grip the cable and his arms were starting to get tremors he lowered his head and looked getting close another twenty feet another twenty feet uphill he corrected himself the truck looked like a lot further drop from here than it did from the roof of the house maybe twelve feet from the wire to the top of the sleeper no biggie by the time he dropped his feet and stretched out only about four feet his hands were cramping he couldn't stop he knew from experience if you take a break it's that much harder to get started again he forced the pain out of his head concentrating on his next move his next grip the next slide of his foot he inched the feet away and when he looked again he was where he needed to be he unhooked his boots and tried to hang on with just his hands but his fingers didn't comply with his brain's commands and he slipped to the roof of the sleeper with a loud thud instead of a soft bump he heard the kids inside scream and he cursed as he rolled over the edge grabbing the rebar webbing welded over the window of the driver's door it wasn't quite a controlled fall and he landed hard on the top of the battery box lost his grip on the mesh and fell off the truck backward his foot seeking the lower step that he never had tommy weld back on he managed to get his head tucked so he didn't bash his brains out on the pavement but he landed solidly on his back his air rushing out in a whoosh the milling horde was no longer milling they had seen him land and disappear from their view and the screaming started up again as they surged toward the truck his crew on the roof of the house were helpless they couldn't see what happened from their vantage point let alone try to send lead downrange gunny jumped up instantly ignoring the pain and his narrowing vision his lungs trying to suck in air but unable to wheeze in more than tiny sips of it he grabbed the door handle and it swung open with ease as he leapt back up on the battery box and into the cab slamming it behind him before any of the undead could get their fingers in the gap he sat on the seat trying to say something to calm the crying kids but it was all he could do to pull in enough air to keep from passing out he had forgotten how much that hurt getting the wind knocked out of you he hadn't felt this since grade school and the monkey bar incident which left him in much the same condition except the recess teacher had come running over and there weren't any flesh-eating monsters trying to sink their teeth into him it took him a minute but when he was finally able to take a normal breath he reassured the kids in his clumsy way and fired up the truck the horde outside redoubled their efforts to get to him clamoring up the blade and climbing on the sides hanging from the mesh protecting the windows gunny dropped it in third and mashed the pedal the mass of zombies at least five or six feet deep in front of the truck didn't even cause the cat to hesitate in the slightest gunny grabbed another gear blew the air horn and started playing the role of the pied piper he drove slow enough and blasted his horn a few more times trying to draw away as many as he could he headed back out of town in the opposite direction of the overlook where the rest of the trucks were parked he followed the same game plan they had before lead them for a few miles then hurry up and get turned around on the way back in crush and destroy as many as possible chopping off legs and tossing them aside like empty beer cans on a nascar race when he got back to the house about 20 minutes later they all came running out the front door before he could bounce up to the porch it seems he had led nearly all of them out of the house too the boys had made quick work of the stragglers stabby still wiping gore off of his claws within minutes the family was reunited they had firecrackers truck and were heading back to the overlook i hope my family reunion story goes as good as theirs gunny thought as he wound his way back up the mountain just a few more days and i'll be there when they got back and gunny was hooked up to his wagon he looked at his watch the day was nearly gone the sun getting ready to sink over the horizon a quick rescue run had turned into an all-day affair with them nearly losing both trucks being trapped in a house getting separated the list went on of all the mistakes they had made even with all they knew they had nearly died just taking a trip into town they were lucky all of them made it back these things could not be underestimated again they needed to set up some protocols for refueling for any stops they made this enemy was worse than the ones they had all faced in the middle east they had numbers and near invincibility superior speed and strength and were undeterred by anything they had zigzagged their way back up the mountain taking meandering routes to try to throw the followers off the trail maybe it worked he understood why the ones on the freeway had just kept coming mile after mile they just followed the straight path of the big road maybe with all the turns they had made there wouldn't be a huge horde coming at them from salt lake tonight he got with cobb and grizz when the glad you made it and welcome backs had been said they had made one run with scratch's truck back down the freeway but the stragglers coming in from that way were just trickling in now all of them broken in one way or another crawling along on severed or shattered limbs they had set up sniper positions and had been brushing up on rusty skills training those who had never fired long distance about windage and bullet drop kim was still the best shot reaching out and touching them in the head at over half a mile with the off-the-shelf pawn shop 308 and an inexpensive scope mounted to it there wasn't even a discussion about leaving they needed fuel and they didn't want to do that in the dark they would roll at first light they doubled the guard to the front of the overlook and expected the worst but by the time night fell they still hadn't seen a mass of them coming up the freeway the twisting turning and backtracking had worked after dinner as grizz had everyone tearing down and cleaning their weapons the boys had regaled them with their overblown tales of harrowing escapes and death-defying near-misses around the campfire stabby was hilarious at times setting the mood with dark tension at others he was a natural storyteller and scratch and lars were natural clowns knowing the right moments to add their bits to the stories it was hugely entertaining watching them and when they had finished grizz asked gunny how much of it was true all of it he said except for the part where everyone passed out from the smell of scratch copping a squat in the attic even the high wire act over the horde not quite the way he told it i didn't try to walk over it with a pink umbrella for balance but yeah even that stacy was standing near him and after the laughter and the quiet applause died away with their triumphant return to the camp she said what he did was good for those kids they can see now that maybe it wasn't as bad as they thought especially when he made the little boy into a hero protecting his sister hell they'll probably even remember it like that now yeah gunny agreed he's ate up but in a good way epilogue daniel didn't make eye contact as he rigidly stood at attention on one side of the oak door leading into the conference room he'd been warned never to look her in the eye she would interpret it as an act of defiance there was some kind of emergency meeting and from the looks of the people who had come in as he was standing guard it was something serious he didn't know what was happening in the world and neither did anyone else in the barracks he had just finished his first rotation with two years of training in his platoon with the force recon marines they'd been rushed here a week ago with rumors of an imminent terrorist attack he was in an expansive underground city somewhere in the catskill mountains as near as any of them were able to determine they had no communication with the outside world and had been sequestered to a small area the whole time they were there even though there were plenty of enlisted men the officers were told they would be standing guard for the meeting even though it was demeaning to them that is what the president wanted times had changed they were some of the lucky the chosen few who had been hand-picked to serve as defenders for the survivors of the disaster or so they were told no one had said exactly what the disaster was but it must be severe he recognized many of the people attending the meeting from seeing them on the news highly placed politicians and corporate heads of business she started screaming at them as she stormed through the door how did this happen how did they get control of the nukes you guaranteed me it would be impossible the door slammed behind her and the rest of her tirade was muffled and indistinct daniel chance to glance over to the other lieutenant who was standing guard he read the same look in his face what the hell is going on he didn't know he just knew this was a far cry from any kind of stories his grandpa cobb or his dad had told him about the marines author's note there is so much more to tell in the zombie road saga but this seemed like a good place to end the beginning of the story i hope you enjoyed it and will follow their journeys in the second book if not then you weren't left with a life or death cliffhanger on the last page and you can take comfort that they are all alive and well with no imminent danger lurking over them jesse and his friends have found a good place to go into hiding and as long as they stay put and don't do anything stupid they will easily survive the zombie outbreak everybody knows teenagers never do anything stupid so they should be just fine lacey and her new friends are in a predicament trapped in the high rise with all venues of escape infested with the undead they'll probably think of something maybe they'll find an ample supply of food and all live happily until the zombies wither away gunny and the crew from the three flags are well on their way to the safe haven of lakota i'm sure they'll arrive without further incident all of the nuclear reactors will be safely deactivated and he'll embrace his role as a politician he'll send a helicopter to pick up his family he'll make peace with the muslims start shaving and wear a suit every day or not this has been zombie road convoy of carnage written by david a simpson narrated by eric a shellman copyright 2017 by david a simpson production copyright 2017 by david a simpson audible hopes you have enjoyed this program

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Keywords: Zombie Road: Convoy of Carnage, David A. Simpson, Zombie Road: Convoy of Carnage Audiobook, Best Audiobook By David A. Simpson, Audiobook David A. Simpson, David A. Simpson Audiobook, Audiobook Zombie Road: Convoy of Carnage, audiobook full, audiobooks full length, audiobook bestseller, audiobook best books, audiobook best story, audiobook best seller, audiobook amazon

Id: YdBajAj5I4I

Length: 572min 9sec (34329 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 24 2021