Zombie Crusade II: David's Journey Page 3

  They each spent about an hour in their respective showers, trying to scrub away the memories of what they had been through that night. By the time the exhausted couple came back downstairs Trudy had whipped up some steak and eggs, and David and Christy realized that they hadn’t eaten in over twelve hours. They all sat down around the kitchen table, but no one spoke for several minutes as the young couple devoured the meal and tried to regain some sense of normalcy.

  Trudy was the first to break the silence, and she got right to the point, “What happened out there? I couldn’t believe what we’ve been seeing on the news, but once I saw you two . . .” Her voice quavered, and she blinked back tears.

  Jim put his hand on his wife’s arm and continued for them both, “Just tell us whatever you can. I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I am pretty sure we have a few of those infected folks roaming around this neighborhood.” When Trudy let out a little gasp, Jim patted his wife reassuringly. “You know we are safe in here; at least for a while. This house is pretty close to a fortress, we have a good supply of guns and ammo, and we’ve got enough food to last us more than a year. We just need to know what we’re up against.”

  David sighed and recounted everything Jack had told him. He described how he and Christy had dismissed his brother’s warnings, and how Jack had sent boxes of gear, weapons, and instructions on how to defend themselves against the zombies. When he was done he leaned back in his chair and gazed over at Christy, “Your daughter is amazing; you should have seen her. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the most important thing that happened today: we got married.”

  Jim’s eyes widened in surprise as he glanced from David to Christy. “Married? When did you get engaged? Why didn’t we know about this? I fully expected to walk my daughter down the aisle . . .”

  Trudy was beaming, “Oh, get over yourself, Jim. That is wonderful news, and God knows we could use some good news to focus on. Let’s celebrate with some champagne!”

  David gratefully accepted, but Christy decided to skip the toast, explaining, “Mom gave me a Xanex and I’m gonna crash for eight hours. You think we’re safe for a while?”

  David nodded, “Sure, hon, get some sleep. We’re safe out here, and I’m sure your dad can keep watch while we rest.”

  Jim agreed, “That’s right. You kids go get some sleep, and we’ll talk more in the morning. I’ve got this place locked down tight, and as long as we don’t make any noise I don’t think we’ll have any trouble from those, uh, zombies.”

  Christy didn’t need any more encouragement; she headed up to her old bedroom as soon as she finished eating. As David placed his plates and silverware in the kitchen sink Jim came up and whispered, “I just took a good look around the property from a couple of the rooms upstairs. There are about twenty of those creatures outside roaming around. You think they were attracted to the noise of you two driving in here?”

  David grabbed Jim’s arm and urgently asked, “Are they trying to get in? Are you sure this place secure?”

  Jim looked around to make sure his wife was out of earshot, “Keep your voice down; I don’t want to worry Trudy and Christy. Nothing is getting in here without heavy equipment, and anyway, they’re mostly crowded around your vehicle. I think they believe you’re still in there.” He poured himself a cup of coffee and put his hand on David’s shoulder. “Come down in the basement with me for a minute, there are a few things I’d like to show you.”

  Once they reached the bottom of the steps David let out a low whistle, “Just how much food do you have stored down here?” The entire back wall of the basement was lined with shelves packed full of basic canned goods, dried beans, rice, and other emergency rations. There was also an impressive supply of toilet paper, several solar lanterns, and a box full of hand-crank flashlights.

  “Besides what you see here, I’ve got four one-year food supply packs that I got at Costco. Trudy says I’m a sucker for survivalist advertising, but if that were true I’d have more weapons.”

  “So what weapons do you have?”

  Jim looked thoughtful for a second, then began to rattle off his list, “Remington 870 12 gauge, Remington .308 rifle, a .20 gauge Ithaca pump, two .22 rifles, a .22 pistol, a Glock .40 caliber pistol, and a .44 Magnum revolver. No silencers, and probably not a great stock of ammo.”

  David smiled, “Not bad for an aerospace engineer, but Christy always does brag about how she learned to be a real deer hunter from her dad.”

  Jim flushed with pride, “I tell you what, son, that girl has a dead eye. She’s a natural.”

  Trudy’s voice drifted down from upstairs, “Jim? David? Where are you?”

  Jim called out, “We’re on our way upstairs.” He nodded to David, “I suspect you’d like to go check on your new wife. Head on up to bed, I can keep an eye on things around here.”

  David let out a long sigh, “I do want to check on Christy, but I’ll be back down after I’m sure she’s sleeping soundly.”

  In the kitchen Trudy offered David a snack of freshly baked oatmeal cookies and milk. He politely declined before enveloping her in a bear hug that caused her to tear up once again. She ventured off in search of a tissue, and David reminded Jim that he wanted to be told immediately if any zombies started trying to get into the house. He then went up and held his wife for fifteen minutes till she was softly and steadily snoring. He’d just closed the bedroom door behind him when his cell phone began vibrating, and though he didn’t recognize the number it was an Indiana area code. His brother was calling from Albion.

  Jack reassured him that their siblings were safe inside The Castle and that thirteen members of his former Ranger platoon were there as well. Jack didn’t say, “I told you so,” but David repeatedly apologized for not listening to his brother’s warnings before the situation had deteriorated so badly. Jack, as usual, had no time for apologies or recriminations, focusing instead on instructions for surviving the situation in which David now found himself.

  The bottom line, according to Jack, was that David loved Christy and considered her to be his wife. That made her and her parents family, and Jack understood that David had a responsibility to all of them. David knew it wasn’t that simple, and that he also felt a responsibility to his family members back in Indiana, but he decided to focus on the moment and concentrate on listening to Jack’s advice about how to live through the pandemic. Jack told him to stay put for a few months in order to see how things played out and discover how the zombies responded to time and a dwindling food supply. Jack was relieved to hear about Jim’s cache of food and supplies, and he warned his little brother to stay inside the house and keep quiet. Finally, he gave David instructions on how to make the house they were now in a bit safer.

  David voiced his desire to find a way back to Indiana, but Jack didn’t want him to risk a trip through what would be over two hundred miles of the most hostile climate imaginable. The zombies were a terrifying threat, but the lack of information about the intentions of survivors they met along the road was what made the journey nearly impossible in Jack’s opinion. David knew he was going to try to get to Indiana eventually, but he also knew he wouldn’t be travelling alone, so he paid careful attention to his brother’s instructions. He regretted not listening to Jack earlier, and he vowed not to make the same mistake again. They both knew that this would quite possibly be the last time they ever spoke to one another, so they said what needed to be said before hanging up. Still, as David stared at the disconnected phone in his hand, he felt a heavy emptiness in the pit of his stomach.

  Once back downstairs David asked Jim to follow him out to the garage where he cleaned and put on all of his armor except for the gloves and helmet. While he worked he explained, “Jack just called and told me that my brothers and sister are all in The Castle with him. He also had some ideas on what we should do here over the coming weeks.”

  Jim responded, “I read his manual while you were upstairs, and everything he discussed seemed to match up with your experi
ences while escaping the city. What does he want us to do?”

  “Well, the first thing we need to do is split our supplies between the basement and the second floor. That way if we’re here for any long-term attack we could take out about eight feet of steps and put a ladder there for access. If zombies did break in we could move upstairs and use the height to our advantage.”

  Jim mused over the suggestion before declaring, “Makes sense. Kind of like an insurance policy of sorts, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Yeah, post-zombie-apocalypse life insurance.”

  Jim grimly chuckled before continuing, “What other ideas did Jack have?”

  “Well, mostly he was pretty impressed with how prepared you are, and he wants us to sit tight for a few months and see how things play out. Apparently nobody knows what happens to the zombies over time.”

  Jim nodded, “I was kind of wondering about that, too. What about helping other people?”

  David was thoughtful for a moment before answering, “He didn’t say anything about us helping anyone else out right now. I’m sure he’s more worried about our safety than that of people over here he doesn’t even know. He did say that we wouldn’t be able to stay in here forever, and at some point we’ll have to band together with other survivors if this thing goes long-term.”

  Jim frowned, “So do you think we should just ignore the neighbors and anyone else in trouble who comes down this street?”

  David rubbed his eyes as he tried to consider the pros and cons of sticking their heads out of the house for any reason. “Look, your wife and daughter will be at risk whenever you decide to try to help out anyone else as this crisis unfolds. I’m not saying we ignore people in need if we have a reasonable opportunity to help them without getting ourselves killed, but we need to pick our battles carefully.”

  “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when the time comes,” Jim finally decided. “I know Judge Hunt and his family next door have been out of town for the past week. His daughter was getting married in Baltimore. I doubt we’ll be seeing them any time soon. Anyway, for now it’s probably best if whoever is left around here just lays low, keeps quiet, and stays out of sight.”

  “Good enough,” David agreed. “Now show me the windows you’re using for observation.”

  For the rest of the night both men kept watch over the area immediately outside of the house. With power to the neighborhood still flowing, they could see a good distance in several directions thanks to the streetlamps that lined the boulevard as well as Judge Hunt’s security lights that kept coming on every time one of the zombies crossed in front of the motion detectors. The infected had likely been drawn to the property by David and Christy’s arrival hours before, but there was no way to know for sure exactly where they came from or how long they would hang around. Finally, just before dawn, a minivan slowly backed out of a driveway in the cul-de-sac and caught the attention of the remaining flesh-eaters stumbling around the Range Rover. All of the zombies turned toward the new sound and slowly shuffled off in the direction of the fading noise of the vehicle’s engine as it passed the Carboni home.

  As David watched the zombies moving out into the street, Jim walked up behind him and gazed in the direction of the retreating minivan. “That was the Martinez family,” he explained. “Vickie is a young doctor, and she and her husband have two little kids. Hope nobody was hurt.”

  David just shook his head as he thought about the family now heading out onto the dangerous roads. “If they’re trying to travel more than a few miles, they’re not going to make it—especially in that minivan.”

  Jim somberly replied, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I hope you’re wrong though.”

  “I hope so, too,” David agreed. “Is the neighborhood usually this quiet?”

  “Well, if you consider that we’ve just kept watch from two in the morning till dawn, yeah, I’m not surprised things are so quiet on our street. There’s more to it though. All day yesterday, before you and Christy arrived, we could see folks up and down the street packing up and leaving. Cleveland was already falling apart, and the few people I spoke with said they were worried that refugees and infected people would be heading our way within a day or two. By nightfall I don’t think twenty percent of the people who live around here were still in their homes. Seems like they all had a lake cottage, or some relative in the southern part of the state, or just plain wanted to head west as fast as they could to try to escape the spread of the virus. Plus I heard a number of gunshots and screams last night around sunset. I think some of my neighbors were the zombies milling around your car. Anyway, seems like this street became a ghost town by the time you arrived.

  “I don’t know what’s been happening in the rest of Westlake. Trudy’s still watching the TV, but she says none of the local newscasts are running, the cable is out, and two of the major networks are off the air. The eastern cities are all crashing, and now the west is starting to fall apart too.”

  David looked away for a moment before exclaiming, “The government waited too long to push the panic button! And they’ve known about this virus for a long time. It didn’t have to turn out this way!”

  “No, but we can’t do anything about that now, son. Listen, it’s almost daylight now. Why don’t you head to the bedroom and grab a few hours’ sleep while I keep an eye on the neighborhood.”

  David was exhausted and didn’t try to deny it. “You wake me up if anything develops out there.”

  “I will. You go on now; I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”

  As David stood up to leave his post, the sound of an engine roaring up the street caused both he and Jim to turn back to the window. It was the Martinez’ minivan returning from the direction it had gone just minutes earlier. The vehicle was speeding and swerving as it passed in front of Jim’s house, and even as they heard the screeching of the brakes at the end of the cul-de-sac they watched nearly a dozen zombies follow the trail left by the noisy auto. Several of the creatures were moving faster than any David had seen before, and he worried that the people in the minivan would be in danger if they were spotted going into their house. He instinctively came to a decision and declared, “I’m going out to help them!”

  Jim quickly responded, “Me, too!”

  “No way, you don’t have any armor and someone has to keep an eye out here.”

  “But you can’t handle all those monsters yourself,” Jim argued.

  “Look,” David countered, “I’m not going out there to commit suicide! I’ve got a plan that I think will work, and we’re gonna need a doctor before this is all over!”

  Jim frowned as he shrugged and asked, “What can I do to help?”

  David explained, “I’m gonna kill those fast zombies on Martinez’ tail and let the doctor and her husband know who I am. When I head back here I’ll climb over the fence, and I need you to make sure nothing follows me in. Then come down and open the back door when you’re sure it’s safe.”

  “All right,” Jim ruefully agreed, “Just be damn careful! If you get yourself killed Christy will never forgive me.”

  David smiled nervously, “I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen!”

  CHAPTER 3

  The sun was still below the horizon when David slipped out of the back gate through his in-laws’ wooden fence. After he got an up-close view of the six-foot high stockade he decided that he wouldn’t be jumping over upon his return and left the gate slightly ajar so he could open it in a hurry if he was pursued home. Moving as quietly as possible, David quickly covered the distance to the Martinez home by trotting down the path between the neighbors’ backyard fences. He held the .22 pistol in his right hand, with a spike-studded mace in his left. He also carried a short sword in his belt.

  The stiffness and pain from his battle to escape the zombies in the lobby and garage of his apartment building began to wane as his body warmed from the exertion of jogging while wearing all of his gear and weapons. David reali
zed that even though he was a regular at the local fitness club, he wasn’t in fighting condition for this war that had savagely imposed itself upon him and his loved ones in the last twenty-four hours. Breathing heavily, he finally saw the minivan parked in a driveway two houses ahead of his current position and was thankful that the Martinez family was nowhere in sight.

  He then heard a can clattering down the street and looked back to see that the fast-movers were almost as close to the end of the cul-de-sac as he was. David quickly covered the remaining distance to the house and took an ambush position behind a medium sized Oak tree at the end of the driveway, but an eerie moan from the trio of zombies at the head of the pack indicated that the flesh-eaters had seen him as he moved out of the shadows of the homes and the decorative shrubbery planted around them. Suddenly, all the streetlights went out with a sizzle, and it took a few seconds for David’s eyes to adjust to the muted illumination of the creeping dawn.

  To make matters much, much worse, a woman jumped out of the passenger side of the minivan and flung open the back door of the vehicle to grab a screaming child and begin pulling him toward the house. David figured that they must have been sitting there debating whether it was safe to run for their home when the appearance of a dozen zombies coming down the road, followed by no power to put up the automatic garage door, sent them into a panic. He could see and hear commotion from the driver’s side of the minivan as well.