Zombies: Chapter 11

Nine weeks had passed since getting to Doug’s house in Ophelia. Our new comrades Tee and Sawyer were showing promise in the group. Tee was already attached to the hip with Brandon. Her mean girl façade was diminishing already. The other girls in the group were starting to come to like Sawyer. He was the charmer I was long ago. His smile and way with words pulled them in; his smooth skin and mysterious eyes kept them there. Though everyone had pretty much paired up in the group, it seemed there were still stragglers.

“So why is it everyone in this little batch of survivors has a girlfriend except us?” Sam asked. Jake, Brian, Chris and I were sitting with him on the back porch. The water looked so inviting in this cooling day but it was almost fall and I knew I’d be freezing. I took another sip of my iced tea letting the lemon linger on my tongue before spitting it out onto the grass.

“I don’t know but have you noticed that Sawyer guy is flirting with all the girls?” Jake asked. I smiled and thought about how almost every girl was falling to his charms.

“It’s okay let them flirt. He’s gay.” Four sets of eyes looked over to me. I took another sip from my tea. The sun was beautiful on the water, so serene, so peaceful. The sounds of it slowly lapping against the rocks of the dock were hypnotizing. The boat floating in the water swayed softly in the breeze.

“Wait….what?!” brain asked, as if the information just hit him. I chucked and took another sip. I could barely taste the vodka.

“Yeah, he’s gay. You didn’t notice that small smile every time he gets done wooing one of the girls. It’s like a sport for him. He’s just doing it to keep up appearances.” I took another sip, “Like anyone here would care.”

“Haha that’s true.” Chris said. I adjusted my chair pillow and let it lay back. The atmosphere around the house was quiet; we were moving tomorrow and a day of one last rest was good. I closed my eyes, the light of the sun turning my lids bright red inside. The smell of the woods wafted into my nose on the breeze. There was nothing that could turn this day bad. It was as if the world knew we were on our final rest for a while and wanted to let it be as decent as possible.

“So what do you think Florida will be like by the time we get there? Won’t it be all trashy and covered in water?” Sam asked. It was true that since no one was there to clean up all the junk washed up by the ocean that a lot of garbage had made its way into the once beautiful cities. Reports from my search group there had confirmed it. We were going to start a very rough drive, no doubt. But once we reached our destination, we’d be that much closer to a safe haven. It was worth all that we’ve been through.

“So what is this island like that we’re going to?” Jake asked. His eyes were on the water like mine but I knew the question was directed to me. It was almost as Korsgaard had put it; like a fairy tale. We were searching for a place that might not exist.

“I don’t know yet actually,” I told him. It was far past the time of white lies and comforting words. “But I do know that by the time we get there, we’ll have a place to go. It’ll be safe and we can wait out this infection.”

“People will be on the island though. If it’s anything like Cuba we could actually get killed when we land.” Sam proclaimed. The air around us shifted; we were not in a pleasant atmosphere anymore. The hint of doubt was now floating around us. Unease filled the space of silence.

I stood, cup now empty, and looked down on him. “It will be a haven. We won’t go anywhere that’s unsafe anymore…you all will be comfortable and thrive.” I looked to the ground. They were too smart for that. They knew, without me telling, that things had to be done. Deals needed to be made. Some people would get hurt. But I would do anything to keep them safe.

I walked into the house, head heavy. The laptops on the dining room table were set up to receive any signal out there for internet access. Radios wired with amplifiers could pick up any distress signal sent. We were set up for a while and I had never used any of this equipment. I stared at the table; it was like no one wanted to know what we were facing. No one wanted to see the destruction wrought on our country. Sitting at one of the laptops I clicked the Google Chrome window. A browser opened and I let out a deep breath.

Searching page after page of news reports, this virus had spread far. Almost all of America had fallen. Some places read of mutations far beyond anything we had seen. The pain of having enormous zombies paled compared to ones that are disgustingly disfigured or had grown extra limbs or sensory organs.  Other places noted the intelligence levels of their own brand of zombies. Where we had the occasional trap setting zombie other places had ones that left people alive to wander back to their headquarters where a horde would attack all of the remaining people there. The east coast was in ruins, the west coast was over run. Central America seemed to have the worse of the wandering cannibal type zombies. Reports from the military spoke of bases being holed up; especially ones with chemical weapons. Having the virus mutate farther than it was seemed plausible if one were to get into these facilities. Scientists wrote of retaliation and possible antidotes to the virus spread.

None of this was recent information. I could only hope the virus would be targeted for extermination and not reversal. Who would really want to lead a normal life after knowing they spent some time eating their own family and friends. Who would be able to sleep knowing they lived in holes and slept in the streets next to piles of their kill. The possibility of a normal life after those and other things wasn’t possible. There will be rampant suicides nationwide. I could see it now. Humans returning to their original thoughts and lives wouldn’t be able to cope. There was just no way to try and be civilized for people who have killed because of the zombie virus. If an antidote was created it would only be humane in those freshly changed or not turned yet. We’d have to kill all who lived the life for more than a few minutes. Everyone. Or else we’d change them just to have them kill themselves.

In that lay the problem with the US Military. Why would they kill them all off if there was a possibility of turning this into the most deadly, tortuous bioweapon ever. Whole countries exterminated by their own. We wouldn’t have to lift a finger but to set the virus free in their population. It was sickening but that was how people of power thought. This would be a war deterrent far more powerful than the nuclear bomb. It would be stored away safe with our other bioweapons and in the event it escaped and mutated the problem we’d have was unimaginable. But knowing our country and the hatred of man it seemed a likely outcome. I turned away from the computer, now more irate and fearful than ever. Tomorrow morning would begin a day of packing and shipping out. I had to keep my eye on our own prize. Let the leaders of this failing country decide what they want. We would be taken care of on our own. Let them turn this place against the world, we’d survive.

But what was that compared to living?

~~~~~~~~

I tossed in my sleep. Visions of a world turned red haunted me. Everywhere I looked there were zombies, smart ones, mutated ones, ones who have lost all humanity and have turned on anything that moved or alerted their senses. Everyone I looked on was a zombie. My own group had succumbed to the virus. Jake and Dillon were pulling Kate into a deep shadow; her screams like nails on a chalkboard in my ears. Sawyer had Nick pinned and was beginning to lean down to rip out his jugular. Everywhere there was blood. And I was the lone survivor. Brandon, my Brandon, was accompanied by Tee and Kierstan and was advancing on Victor.

 I sat upright in bed, my body trembling. The cold sweat on my brow began to flow into my eyes and the sting let me know that I was awake; though the feelings in the dream were as real as any daytime experience. I looked around in the darkness of the room. Sam and Chris were on the floor, Chris’ snoring making Sam roll to avoid the noise. Brian was cuddling with a long pillow, his smile assuring me that his REM hadn’t been intruded with horrific nightmares. I pulled the covers away and sat on the edge of the bed. I needed to get sleep, but my mind was already awake.

It was two twenty three; almost time for Hill to take his shift down in Florida. I grabbed my phone off the charger and punched in his number.

“Yo, Quick, why are you up so late?” Hill proclaimed. My mind raced. Why had I called? What did I want him to do again? The words jumbling in my mouth I stuttered. “You okay Quick?”

“Y-yeah. I’m good. I-I-I have a question,” I yammered into the phone. My breathing was harsh. A sudden relapse in the dream struck me. A vision of my blade arching above my head coming down on a waiting face. Doug’s face. My lids squeezed shut and I slapped the side of my head with a fist. Over the phone I could barely hear Hill questioning me. In my ears I heard the screams of my friends and my loud wails. I was crying, my pain could be felt in the sounds I made. A shiver went down my spine; this was too real. I grabbed my knife out of the pouch hanging off the bed. I lifted the blade to my face, inspecting it. The clean steel blade hadn’t seen blood yet.

I quickly slid the edge against my leg, a line of blood began to seep from the fresh wound. I hissed from the pain but felt alive. The images in my head instantly stopped. “…Are you sure you’re okay, Quick? Here, wait a second.” As I sat there in the darkness, the sounds of my friends sleeping lulling my mind, I let the phone down from my ear for a little bit. My eyes still closed I took in deep filling breaths. I would not seem incapable of leadership. I would never let anyone doubt my ability to keep to together. Never again. I pressed my hand over the slice I had made in my thigh.

“Hello?” I heard from my lap. I placed the phone back to my ear. “Hello?” the voice repeated. The voice, soft and understanding without any words from my mouth. The voice I’d come to understand that was my mental oasis. The dust cleared from my thoughts.

“Hello…Remmy.” My voice was more stable now though my body was still trembling. My arms feeling like jelly, I got a grip of myself and forced calm.

“Hey, Quicky. What’s going on?” his voice was joking but I could almost feel the interrogative tone hidden within. I huffed, I had to play my cards right when talking to him.

“Not much, just had a bad dream. What’s up down there? How’s the babies? How’s Anita?”

“They’re all great, now what’s going on with you?” he asked more forcibly now. I rolled my eyes at my own naivety, there was no hiding. In our past he could always see through my disguise. Its why I knew I could always be myself with him, because there was no way to hide. I looked to the window in the room. The moon’s light shone in illuminating my feet and the floor around me.

“I have a big question to ask of you all….what’s going on with the search? I need to know. We have to find a place soon. It doesn’t look good on the news and I’m just scared that when we get there…it’ll be…I don’t know, too late?” my eyebrows had furrowed. I hated not having faith in them but if I was ever to get a good night’s sleep I’d need to know this. I waited while I heard him chatting with Hill and some other voice. As they conversed my stomach knotted. I hated this more than anything that could attack me.

“Well we’re doing well. We’ve scouted some possible islands and with the help of the new guys we can get things done faster. It’s not easy boating to random islands nowadays, Quick. But we got this. Just worry about what you’re doing.” He said. I let loose my held breath.

“Okay. That’s good.” I breathed easier. “But now I have another question…” I heard him exaggeratedly huff over the phone.

“What, Quicky? I gotta get to bed. My wife wants some of this.” I laughed.

“Who there other than Hill can fly that plane…because I’m thinking of a pickup. Flying is safer and faster than a drive down there. And my people have been through enough.” Remmy was silent on his side. The question hung in the air. I felt tense all over. If we could get a pickup then we wouldn’t have to traverse the questionable roads to Florida. All we’d need is a good landing strip and we were a go. I knew places where the highway stretched on, not bending or becoming hills. I heard the phone pass between hands.

“Quick this is Hill…”