Chater 14

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "You guys did an outstanding job.

Thank you so much! Now, let's get busy and start saving people!"

It seems like so long ago since I made that statement,

but it had only been a few months. People are starting to file in as we have

invited entire groups who were willing to acquiesce to our rules. Even though

the Plant and the Armory were out in the open, we still maintained the secrecy

of the ARC.

We expanded the council and included elections and

representation from the other two locations. The meeting of the council rotated

to each location so as not to give the impression of favoritism.

As time passed and our communities grew, I began to

get a little worried. Even though we're in the middle of the apocalypse,

everyone seems to be a little too at ease.

We're having barbecues and dances. A couple of the Raiders even salvaged some

films and projectors from a movie theater and changed one of the barracks at

the Armory into a theater. We have committed an unforgivable sin: complacency.

We are getting fat and comfortable.

Tim, Von, and Fred have come up with some innovative

ideas, like pinning the DCs in front of the armory to give it the illusion that

it is overrun. Von also suggested that we attach wires to some of the DCs near

the plant to force them to walk in a circle as a deterrent. All of the DCs had

their teeth and fingertips removed.

But the bulk of our community is not ready for what I

feel is coming. And it seems that Di is becoming a little more Pollyanna every day. She is adamant

about preventing us from raising and training a pseudo-army. It's even

beginning to affect the relationship between her and Andre.

"Babe, I know you have an issue with violence and that

we should all 'just get along,' but that's not the world we live in," said

Andre. "You weren't there, so you didn't see the shape Marie was in after that Otto von Douche Bag dude took her or

with what happened to Ellen. What if Jacob and his crew should come back? There

are some evil and depraved human beings out there now with no law to reign them

in."

"I'm not naive Andre, but do we have to become the

evil we are fighting against?" pleaded Diana. "Guns beget violence and violence

begets arrogance and arrogance begets superiority and the whole damn thing

starts over again."

"Look, we're not conquerors!" said Andre. "We're not

looking to take what others have. We are only offering an alliance or an offer

to join us, as well as protect our way of life."

"But what about those folks who turned you down the

other day?" she asked.

"Those hillbilly idiots pulled guns on us and tried to

take our truck. We tried to leave peacefully, but they attacked us," he said.

"They attack us, we attack them, and it always ends

the same: with someone dead," she replied.

"So, are you suggesting that we don't defend

ourselves?" he asked.

"No! I'd die if anything happened to you. I just want

the killing to stop!" she said.

As I moved between the ARC, the Armory, and the Plant,

I saw laughter, I saw people sitting around lazily, but I saw no training. The

twins are making out in the shooting range with Aisha and Regina. Fred and

Ronny are in the motor pool attempting to restore a hotrod that Rodriguez

found. And Rodriguez, with T's and a few of the Raiders' help, is throwing his

daughter, Elsa, a quinceañera.

I mean, one part of me is glad that we are getting as

close to normal as possible, but it feels like the calm before the storm. I

continue on to one of the makeshift dojos set up in the Plant, and I see Em and

Joshua training their hearts out. They get it, but the others seem to be

treating this like a day at the spa.

"You two seem to be going at it pretty fierce," I

said.

"He's good, but I'm better," said Em. And with that

distraction, Joshua swept her legs from under her and slapped on an armbar.

"Hey! No fair, Doc distracted me!" she protested as

she tapped out.

Joshua stood, and he bowed to me and then to Em and

said, "As my sensei says constantly, 'we must be ready for any and all

eventualities.'"

My heart swelled with pride.

"If I may be excused, I promised Jamie I would go over

some 'holds' with her," he said as he grinned and blushed. We bowed, and he ran

off.

"I think you are possibly passing some of your

flirtatious traits on to him," said Em as she slapped my bottom and squeezed

it.

"Only the good ones," I said as I winked at her.

Em joined me as I continued through the Plant. Jason,

Ellen, and Marie were the first ones who decided to take up residence here with

Ernesti and Madison. Where was Ernesti? Where else would he be but with

Madison? Most in our group think that Ernesti has lost it. But I know he stays

with Madison out of obligation. He feels guilty that he was unable to protect

her and that she turned.

"Madison, I really believe I have an opportunity to

return to the living again," he said as he caressed her face and she looked on

with a vacant look in her eyes. "Know that I will never forget you and will

always remember the promise: 'Life continues as long as one lives!'"

He pulled out his blade and sunk it into Madison's

temple. He turned toward us and said, "It's done!" He picked up Madison's

lifeless body and carried it outside. He dug a shallow grave that he insisted

that he alone dig, said a few quiet words, and buried his friend with only Em

and I as witnesses.

Ernesti retuned inside and walked up to Marie and

gently took her hand and said, "I will protect you."

I guess it is spring and love is in the air. I needed

to get out of the confines of the shelters. I asked Em to accompany me as I

checked on a few of the outposts.

We drove to the outpost where we first ran into Em,

Joshua, and the Rodriguez family. The food stores hadn't been restocked and the

weapons had been taken. We replaced the supplies and we continued to the

outpost where we ran into Jamie and Ronny.

There was a couple there. The woman was cradling the

head of the man. She said something that we couldn't make out and she shot him

in the head. She then pointed the gun at her own head and pulled the trigger.

They gave up. I looked at Em and she looked at me, and we both turned to leave.

"Em, I'm worried," I said. "This is the world we now

live in, but everyone at our settlements is living in a fool's paradise."

"They're just happy," she said.

"They're getting soft," I replied. "How do I get them

to understand that this could all end tomorrow, that none of us are really

safe? We have to remain vigilant at all times, but we've gotten too

comfortable."

Our conversation was interrupted by a DC, then two,

three, it was a damned herd! It was as if the fates were trying to prove my

point.

Em, and I were hacking our way back to the car. My

heart skipped a beat when Em and I got separated, and she became surrounded by

DCs. I struggled against the DCs near me and pushed towards her direction. Em

was gone. My heart was beginning to sink, and I grew furious. I was angry

enough to kill them all. These monsters had taken two women from me, and there

wasn't anything I could do about it.

But just then, it happened. I could no longer see her,

but the sound of her blade could still be heard cleaving bone and tissue.

"Em! Keep heading towards the car!" I shouted.

"I'll meet you there, lover!" she shouted back.

But that was when I saw it. It wasn't a herd. It was a

hoard. There were thousands of DCs in the valley and they were all headed

towards the ARC. This one makes the last walk-through look like a picnic.

"This is Doc to the ARC! Doc to the ARC! A hoard is on

its way through the area! Repeat, a hoard is on its way through the area!" I

screamed into the walkie-talkie.

"This is Mirna Rodriguez on comm-duty! Say again!"

said Mirna.

"Mirna, this is Doc! A hoard of approximately 20,000

DCs are headed that way!" I repeated.

"¡Dios mío!

The ranking council member here is Mr. T. I'll let him know rápidamente!" She replied.

As we made it back to the car, it was about to be

overrun. We got into the car just in the nick of time. We hit two DCs as we

peeled out.

In all the time I've known Em, this is the first time

she has looked frightened. But who can blame her? When the herd walked through

the ARC the first time, two people were hurt, and one was killed. God only

knows what will happen this time. How and the hell will they react to this

after so much time of lazing around?

Due to the severity of the situation, we broke

protocol and drove right through the gate of the farm and right up to the barn.

We dispatched the DCs still there. Mirna was on the comms with both the Armory

and the Plant. They had already begun to evacuate the non-fighters out of the

ARC and relocated them to the Plant. The Raiders, whose ranks were recently

increased by Henry, Ernesti, and Jason were all dressed in their riot gear and armed

and ready to go at the ARC. Von and T were there as well.

"We got everyone out," said T. "Von here thinks he has

some way to guide the hoard!"

Von led us all to the conference room. He then wheeled

in a whiteboard that we found on one of the runs.

"We know that the DCs follow sounds and rapidly moving

targets. Well, I think if we use some of the VonBombs, we can force the DCs to

follow both the alarms and the explosions," he said. "The problem will come

when trying to get close enough to deploy the devices. I was hoping we could

use the t-shirt canons that Rodriguez found, but the VonBombs won't fit in

them. So, the only remaining option is to throw them."

"If we all use riot gear and stay a good distance from

them and throw the VonBombs in their midsts, we might be able to guide them to

an area away from our settlements," I said. "Look, dead heroes won't do any of

us any good. Keep your head on a swivel and stay alert. Don't let yourself get

surrounded and overwhelmed!"

"Hmm, you can be overwhelmed and underwhelmed, but can

anyone just be whelmed?" asked T.

His attempts to break the tension with levity was

obvious. We all laughed with nervousness mixed in.

"Today, I'm shooting for plain old whelmed!" exclaimed

T.

"T, come in! T do you read me? Over," said Leon on the

walkie-talkie. "Fred got the tank running. We're ready to show these mofos not

to fuck with us, sir!"

T informed Leon, Fred, and Tim of our plan to try and

herd the hoard using the VonBombs. Leon would only fire if he was certain there

was no one in the area.

Andre, Brian, and Henry took the .50 caliber machine

gun mounted truck and took point. They were followed by Ernesti and Jason in a

pickup with Robert. Ricky drove Joshua and T. I brought up the rear with Gerald

and Rodriguez. We would rendezvous with Leon out by the crest of the valley

provided they hadn't progressed that far. Leon wanted to just run them over

with the tank, but T feared the treads would become clogged with DC parts and

dissuaded him from that course. I tasked Em and Di with shoring up the defenses

for the Armory and the Plant, as we were all out in the field to prevent

disaster.

T and I tried to prepare the group for what lied

ahead. Even though all of us had experienced a herd or two before, I think this

horde was a first for all of us. The sheer magnitude of the undead was

staggering. It was almost beautiful, that is until you realized that they were

coming to devour you.

"I need everyone to steel yourselves today. I don't

want anyone to take any unnecessary risks. Let's do this by the numbers but

remain safe above all else," I said to them. "If you get separated from the

group, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT honk your horn, as that will only

draw attention to your vehicle. Get on the radio. Everyone should have extra

batteries as well."

As Andre, Brian, and Henry pulled up in front of the

hoard, they began to lay down hundreds of DCs and began to create an artificial

wall that causes them to change course slightly.

"Henry, what's the ammo situation like?" asked Andre

over the comm.

"We have approximately 300,000 rounds back here. We

should be fine," responded Henry.

"Okay, we're going to try and continue to guide them

with stacking bodies," said Andre.

"I'll do my best to keep them away from the truck,"

said Brian. Robert followed behind them as Ernesti and Jason shot those who

broke through the wall and caused a new stack.

"Doc, they're trying to push through the wall," said

Jason.

"That's because you stopped and gave them a target.

Keep it moving, and if you begin to run out of fuel, break away and head to the

Plant, refuel and return. Leave at a quarter of a tank of fuel. Ricky, I want

you to pull away at half a tank to ensure that we always have someone on the

line. If worse comes to worst, we have Leon in the tank," I said.

The radio chatter was interrupted as Ricky got stuck

attempting to drive over the fallen DCs.

"Dad, we're stuck!" said Joshua. "What's the plan?"

"We're on our way, son!" I shouted.

Andre circled back to help us as we repelled the

advancing DCs.

"Andre, continue on course with the objective. We have

to guide these DCs away from our settlements!" T shouted.

"But T, we have to save our people!" yelled Andre.

"You have your orders, mister. Disobey them again, and

you'll deal with me!" T shouted.

Again, Andre turned his vehicle around and returned to

the task at hand as he, Brian, and Henry were curbing the DCs by creating walls

of the fallen dead. Joshua, T, Gerald, and I shot as many DCs as we were able,

creating a small perimeter of DC bodies as they fell; but they continued to

move forward. Even though we were diligent in killing as many DCs as possible,

a few got through. Joshua and T began to engage them in hand to hand as they

reached over the sides of the pickup. Joshua moved as quickly as a flash as he

dispatched the encroaching DCs. T was equally as effective as they dispatched

any DC that dared to reach into the bed of the truck.

"Damn, boy! You're making me look bad. But I've never

been so glad to look so bad," said T.

"I apologize, Mr. T. That was not my intention," said

Joshua.

"Mr. T?! I pity

the fool!" laughed T.

Joshua looked at him strangely as he didn't understand

the reference.

"Uh-uh! You call me Uncle T!" T demanded.

They smiled at each other, as a DC reached in and

grabbed Joshua by his arm. Everything moved in slow motion, as they tugged back

and forth. The DC attempting to secure the bite and Joshua attempting to break

free. The DC was pulling his arm to his mouth. But I already had the shot lined

up. Boom! The DCs head exploded all

over Joshua. He wrestled his arm free of the grip and looked in my direction

and gave me the thumbs up. As the bodies continued to fall against the truck

driven by Ricky, the sheer weight of the corpses pushed the truck forward and

free.

Ricky continued on to the Plant to refuel while the

rest of us began to toss the VonBombs into the midst of the DCs. You could hear

the faint ringing of the bell of the alarm over the constant moaning and

hissing and then boom! Shrapnel would

lay down about 15 to 20 DCs, and those just outside of the blast radius would

move to the blast area towards the sound and burning flesh.

Again, another VonBomb, then two, now three, four,

five all in the air, then the ringing, followed by the boom! The VonBombs landed far enough within the DC wall to maintain

its integrity but enough to lay down a floor of DCs adjacent to it.

Again, Andre circled around the front of the hoard and

it was actually turning. As they began to head into a nearby quarry, I

instructed the Raiders to continue to herd them into that direction. With only

one way out, we could create a rockslide from the mountain to block the road

out of the quarry and trap the hoard inside.

We began to throw the VonBombs into the quarry and the

DCs began walking off the cliff right into the pit. The wall of DC bodies worked

to lead them where we wanted them. As a few straggling DCs began to diverge

from the path leading to the quarry, Robert ran through a herd. Some of the

body parts from the DCs got stuck in the undercarriage of the truck. Robert

lost control as the truck crashed into a tree overlooking the quarry.

The force of the truck striking the tree caused it to

uproot and lean over the quarry. The truck was halfway up the tree. If the soil

on those roots gives way, the truck and those three men will fall head first

into a pit of thousands of DCs.

"How long before you get back here, Ricky?!" T yelled

into the walkie-talkie.

"We're about 10 minutes out, T," Ricky responded.

Robert was unconscious and Jason and Ernesti were

doing all they could to fight off the remainder of the herd.

"Rodriguez, see if you can get us over there to lend a

hand! Andre, keep pushing those bastards into the quarry! Leon! Stand at the

ready! When Andre gives you the signal, blast the mountainside to pin them in.

Ernesti and Jason, keep fighting. We're on our way! You two have to protect

Robert!" T yelled into the walkie.

As Rodriguez advanced on the hoard, Gerald and I

picked off as many DCs as we could. You could tell that the fighting was

beginning to take a physical toll on Ernesti and Jason. But they didn't stop.

It was as if a bloodlust overcame them. They shot and bashed DC after DC. The

DCs were beginning to advance against the truck and the tree was beginning to

lower slowly into the quarry. The roots of the tree were almost free.

As we pulled up to the truck, Gerald and I jumped into

the back of their truck trying to create a counterweight. Rodriguez moved to

get Robert out of their truck and into ours. We were then beset by more DCs

determined to make a meal of us.

Rodriguez kicked one away as he carried Robert to the

truck. Two more were upon him as Jason split one's skull with his machete. The

DCs were now clawing at Ernesti's hoodie. He struggled to free himself from the

death grip of one of the DCs.

Rodriguez had Robert over his shoulder pressed against

the truck while fighting off advancing DCs, Ernesti was still engaging in his silent

tug of war with three DCs who continued clawing at his hoodie. Gerald, Jason,

and I were fighting and shooting, but they never seemed to end. We fought them

back over the edge of the cliff and into the quarry. Ernesti finally freed

himself as he kicked the lead DC into the other two as they stumbled over the

cliff.

Just then, it was as if there was a last-ditch effort

by the DCs, as some were surging from the quarry. And as we were steeling

ourselves for their advance, you could hear it, ratta-tatt-tatt, ratta-tatt-tatt, ratta-tatt-tatt.

It was Andre, Brian, and Henry. The machine gun made

short work of the DCs as their heads exploded. We fought while trying not to

become victims of friendly fire. We herded them together, and Henry took them

down. As what we thought was the last DC to fall, we all kind of just fell

against the truck as Andre radioed Leon to level the mountain. He fired the

shells, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! They hit

hard and rained dirt, soil, and debris over the entire quarry, but our

objective was completed.

As I stood up against the truck, a hand belonging to the

top half of a DC's torso grabbed my foot from underneath it. It bit me hard on

the ankle. As this was happening, Ricky was speeding to our location, and

before he could come to a full stop, Joshua leaped from the back of the truck

and crushed the DC's head with his staff in one fluid motion.

They all looked at me as if I were already dead. T and

Joshua were visibly upset, and though there was a constant moan and hiss of the

DCs in the quarry, there was a noticeable silence as we all stood there. Heads

were lowered and they shook. Andre, Brian, and Henry pulled up, and Ernesti

informed them of what had just happened.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" T's yell echoed over hissing in the

quarry.

"This isn't fair," said Joshua. "It's not supposed to

end like this for you. You just became my dad."

I think I even saw a tear or two well up in a few

eyes. As I pulled up my pant leg to reveal where the DC bit me, a large

collective sigh fell from everyone's lips. Thank God for boot leather of that

riot gear we found. I shot Joshua the thumbs up.

I checked on Robert and he was slowly regaining

consciousness. We climbed into the trucks and headed back to the ARC. We

showered and changed and then headed to the Plant. As we pulled up to the

towers, we noticed they weren't manned.

There was no sign of an attack and the doors were

shut. As we made our way inside, everyone was gathered in the middle of the

plant floor.

Di approached me and said, "Marvin, I'm so, so sorry."

"Why is everyone so somber? It only bit boot leather.

I'll be fine," I said thinking they had heard about my ordeal with the DC.

I then saw Em. Her eyes were puffy from crying and she

was visibly shaken and upset.

"I didn't know what else to do," she said as she

cried! "I didn't know what else to do!'

In the middle of the floor were three bodies covered

with sheets.

"Marv, I'm so sorry, but I didn't know what else to

do!" she said again as Di put her arm around her.

I was confused and dumbfounded. Everyone's eyes were

on me and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. I wasn't bitten. I was

going to live.

"My Ma would say you all look as nervous as a

long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking-chairs," I said as I looked around.

Again, everyone looked away to avoid my gaze.

"Hey! Where is my Ma anyway?" I asked.

Again, they all looked away.

"During the excitement, she decided to go lie down in

one of the offices," said Di. "I think it was a heart attack and she passed in

her sleep. When she re-animated she bit Tim's wife who went to check on her.

When Nancy didn't come back, Marie went to check on the both of them, and they

got her. They're all gone."