Dead Surge Read online

  “Okay! C’mon Julia”! Jake took Julia by the hand and Charlie and I watched for a second to make sure nothing else came out of the woods at them. When they were halfway to the guesthouse, formerly the Visitor Center of Starved Rock, we turned our attention to the advancing dead.

  Chapter 3

  “Close one,” Charlie instructed, holding a tomahawk in each hand.

  “Too close. You gonna tell Rebecca?”

  “As much as you’re going to tell Sarah.”

  “Agreed. Let’s get to work.” I spun the staff and jammed the steel cap though the skull of the nearest zombie. It had been hit in the spine, paralyzing its legs, but it still tried to crawl towards us. Charlie finished off the one that had been advancing on Julia, and the third had been hit with a lucky shot in the head, putting her down for good.

  The rest of the zombies had made good time, and were actually spreading out to try and prevent our escape. It never worked, since they couldn’t move as quickly as we could, but I had to give them props for trying.

  We didn’t use our guns as much as we used to, saving them for emergencies or desperate situations, but with a small band like this, we’d stick to hand-to-hand. We’d been fighting zombies for six years, with the last three being nothing but daily fights. We’d seen some strange things, but this was nothing spectacular.

  “I’ll start on the left,” Charlie said. As soon as he said that, he exploded into action. He darted around to the far left of the line and ducked low, cracking his ‘hawk into the back of the knee of the first zombie. It tumbled down and he hit it with the second ‘hawk before it even hit the ground.

  I turned my attention to my side and attacked the furthest right zombie. It was a woman, maybe, but since they all were turning a deep shade of grey it was hard to tell. The newer ones still looked like people, just bloodier. If they were wearing distinct clothing, it was easier and much easier if they were naked, but that was actually rare. I rammed the point of the staff into the eye of the Z, bursting the eye socket and piercing the brain. I pulled it out as it fell and levered the staff between the legs of the next one. A quick turn tumbled that one down, and I let the staff go, since the third was getting way too close. I whipped out my knife and stabbed the zombie in the neck, figuring to punch the spinal cord and drop the smelly bastard.

  Good theory, but didn’t work in practice. I must have missed, because the Z just kept coming with my knife sticking out of its neck. Its hands grabbed my left arm and pulled me in for an infected bite. I grabbed the left wrist of the zombie and twisted it inward, forcing the Z’s elbow towards its face and away from mine. I used my right hand to grab the handle of my knife and pulled it out as I levered the zombie to the ground. That wasn’t easy with it still grabbing my forearm. But I gained enough space to jam the blade into the top of the zombie’s skull and shut him down.

  I stepped back quickly, just managing to avoid a grab on my leg by the zombie I had knocked down earlier. I brought my foot up and slammed it down on the neck of the Z, pinning it to the pavement. A quick stab finished it off and I looked for the next foe.

  Charlie had done well on his side, killing two of his zombies and removing the third. The fourth, an older gent in his Bermuda shorts and black socks, shuffled towards Charlie with an outsized groan.

  I stepped up behind the zombie, and just as Charlie stood up and cocked his arm back for a killing blow with his ‘hawk, I swung my knife in a wide, backhanded sweep that completely removed the head of the zombie. It stumbled back over its butt and bounced on the ground, with the rest falling towards Charlie. The head still bit and snarled, but I finished it off with a jab to the temple. My new knife was well suited for both slashing and stabbing.

  “Nice one.” Charlie admired. “I need to get a new knife. I like the way that one cuts.”

  “Talk to Duncan. He seems to know more than anyone about knives and blades,” I said, retrieving Jake’s staff. If I left it behind, I’d never hear the end of it.

  “Come on; let’s drag them over to the pit.”

  “Haven’t used that place in a while,” Charlie said grabbing two Z’s by the collar and pulling them along the driveway.

  I joined him with two of my own. “That’s for sure. Wonder where they came from?”

  “Could be anywhere. Fall is nearly here, so they could have been in the woods all summer, or been following the river from a bigger, dead town.” Charlie dumped the bodies in and started walking back for more.

  “Maybe. Just weird to see so many in a group around here. Hope it’s not a sign something bigger is happening,” I said, looking to the West.

  Charlie read my thoughts. “I’m sure the gates are holding on the passes. Nothing will get through the mountains.”

  “Hope so.” I thought about it as I grabbed two more zombies for the pit. “It would suck to have to do that all over again.”

  “No thanks,” Said Charlie. “Once was enough. If I never see Denver again, it will be too soon.”

  I laughed. “Good God! I nearly forgot about that fight! Thank Heaven for mannequins.”

  We hauled the rest of the zombies over to the pit and squirted some kerosene on the pile from a squeeze bottle we left hanging in a tree for that purpose. I tossed in a match and as the flames burned brightly, I sanitized the end of Jake’s staff and my pickaxe. My knife I would clean back at the lodge. Charlie would do the same with his ‘hawks.

  We walked back to the Visitor Center and collected our young. Jake wanted to hold his staff, because Julia had hers, but relented when I refused in a voice that brooked no argument.

  As we entered the clearing on our way to the stairs, I looked up and saw Sarah and Rebecca standing on the first landing of the stairs. Both of them had rifles in their hands, and they were holding them at the low ready.

  I waved up to the ladies, followed by Charlie, but didn’t get one in return. Instead, Sarah and Rebecca turned on their heels and walked back to the lodge. There was tautness to their movements that did not bode well for Charlie and myself.

  Oh, well. I’d been in trouble before and will be again. That seemed to be the nature of things, although Sarah was lately more impatient with me. I wasn’t sure why it was, but I was sure it had something to do with the communication we had received from the capital.

  Chapter 4

  Charlie and I hustled the kids into the lodge ahead of us, and we stopped at a small maintenance shed for the ritualistic burning of our weapons. I lay out my knife, pick, and Jake’s staff, and sprayed kerosene on the parts that had killed zombies. Charlie did the same with his tomahawks. I struck a match and touched each weapon, watching as the flames burned bright red, and then settled to a normal white-orange. I blew out the flames once the red died out. I always sanitized Jake’s stuff twice, just to be sure. The virus, we learned, burned crimson, so it was easy to tell when it was gone.

  Once the weapons had been cleansed, I took a piece of steel wool and buffed off the scorch marks. I inspected my knife for nicks, and then slid it home in its sheath. The sheath rode along my waistline and required a draw out from my back as opposed to across my body, but it all worked out the same.

  We went into the main hall of the lodge and Sarah was sitting at the big table. Jake and Julia were playing in the corner, building a small universe out of plastic blocks. Janna and her daughter were over by the fireplace, waiting for Duncan to come home, and Angela was nearby with her and Tommy’s son. Rebecca was sitting by Sarah and neither looked happy. Charlie and I passed the table, and took off our gear in the supply room. For some reason I was suddenly tired, and not in any mood for nonsense regarding the safety of my son.

  I went back to the table and sat down, not saying anything for a while, just reorganizing my thoughts.

  Sarah didn’t give me much time. “We heard shots. What happened?” Her green eyes were angry, and I couldn’t blame her entirely, but it wasn’t the best approach.

  “We got the call that there might have been a lurker
along the river. I went to take a look and Charlie came along. Since we thought it was only one, we figured the kids could come with. We got ambushed by a good sized group,” I said simply, shifting my back to a more comfortable position.

  Sarah looked concerned. “Ambushed? How many? Where?” If she was angry before it was gone now. From her perch on the stairs, she couldn’t have seen the fight.

  “There were fifteen of them, and before you ask, I have no idea where they came from.” I was on edge myself, which was normal after a fight these days, and the implications of a large zombie group in my backyard didn’t present any positive news.

  “How did Jake get there?” Sarah asked, shifting the conversation.

  I had anticipated this and answered quickly. “He and Julia came along when Charlie and I thought it was only a single Z. If it had been reported that there was that many, do you honestly think I would have brought either of them?”

  Sarah looked at me for a minute, and then must have decided against further argument. Her tone softened. “You’re right. You going to tell me about it?”

  I thought a minute about how close the two kids had come to being bitten, and decided to skip half the truth. “Same thing we’ve seen before. We were among them before they moved, and we sent the kids back to the Visitor Center when it became obvious it was a serious fight.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re all okay,” Rebecca said, ending the matter. All I could hope for was Jake to keep quiet until he forgot about it, and then we’d be in the clear.

  “Do we want to talk about the communication from the capital?” Sarah asked, turning the attention back on me.

  I stood up and went over to the message board, which was nothing more than a legal pad. I brought it back and laid it on the table, three heads craned to see what I had written there when the message first came in. NEED TO TALK TO PRES, PROB IN THE PLAINS, COMMS DOWN, NO REPLIES. I had long had a habit of scripting when I spoke on a phone, a ‘cover my butt’ move from my days as an administrator. With phone service very limited, and still being sorted out by people who didn’t know what they were doing yet, the fact that we had a call at all was pretty amazing. Most people these days used CB radios, ham radios, and walkie-talkies. Communities that had power were able to activate their phone networks, but it was an iffy thing. Rumor was there was a phone service survivor somewhere in the southern states, but he was busy.

  After reading the message, the three other heads at the table turned to look at me and I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess the polite thing to do would be go see what the president wants,” I said.

  Sarah looked at me. “When are you going?”

  I leveled a look back at her. “We’re going so you can hear for yourself.” As she arched an eyebrow at me, I tilted my head at Charlie. “Coming along?”

  Charlie looked at Rebecca and back to me. He nodded and winked at Rebecca, who brightened at the thought of a trip.

  I wasn’t fooling anyone. Sarah knew I had invited her and Rebecca along as a barricade to any unreasonable requests. God knows I’d had a few of those. When I accepted the position of President four years ago, I knew it was going to be rough. But the last three years had been unbelievable, with the Zombie War. We had been to nearly every major part of the United States, and fought hundreds of zombie battles. I constantly told myself I would write down a chronology of the War, but so far hadn’t got around to it. While it wouldn’t be a best seller, at least it would be a lesson to those who come after us on what worked, what didn’t work, and how not to get yourself killed when three hundred zombies come after you.

  We went to bed and in the morning prepared the boat for travel. The highways were mostly cleared, and people travelled well on them, but there were occasional snags, especially around formerly well-populated areas. But I personally liked using the waterways, and it provided a more direct route to the capital.

  Jake and Julia were sad not to be going, but they were happy to be having a special day with their Uncle Mike and their cousins Logan and Annie, over at the other lodge. Mike had moved his family over there and it worked out pretty well. Logan was ten years old, and was becoming quite the little woodsman. He was constantly out in the reserve, checking things out, finding out how things worked. Annie was more of a homebody, helping with the other little ones, my other son included. Aaron was mine and Sarah’s son, born on the road and raised with the sound of zombie fighting in his ears. He was tall for his age, with dark hair and green eyes. While Jake rushed in, Aaron was the watcher, waiting for his opportunity. I was curious to see how he took to training, but I had a suspicion he would do well. He was a quiet, deliberate boy, more given to playing by himself than with others, although they liked him and wanted to include him. He just seemed to prefer his own company.

  Chapter 5

  Tommy, Duncan, and Mike came down to the dock to see us off. We were packed light, although thanks to the recent dance we were armed heavily. I was packing my .45, having finally surrendered my SIG to the Zombie Wars. Sarah was armed with a .45 as well, although hers was a Commander size. When she showed a preference for it, I reminded her of the .22 that she used to carry and how far she had come since then. She reminded me that she could shoot it just as well, thank you very much.

  Charlie and Rebecca were both armed, and Charlie and myself additionally carried our rifles. It wasn’t far to Leport, but as we had discovered, what we thought was safe sometimes bit us.

  Once under way, we relaxed a bit in the cool autumn air. The river still carried traces of its morning mist, and the vegetation was heavy along the banks. We threw waves to the people we saw in the towns along the river, and answered a question or three from early fishermen. Further in, we passed the ruins of Joslin, a town I had ordered destroyed early in my presidency. That place was a constant source of roaming zombies, and we closed it down once and for all. The zombies were still there, but they couldn’t get out. The only thing we salvaged was the power plant along the river, and a small crew kept it running at a minimum. It supplied power to several small communities, and would do so until the coal piles ran out, which at current use would happen in three hundred years.

  Several boats passed us on our way north, some laden with supplies and trade goods. One was a flatboat, delivering ordered goods from the general warehouse. I waved to the pilot, and he sent back a warm welcome.

  Towards the afternoon, we stopped at a small, out of the way place to relieve the call of nature. I wasn’t one to just let fly over the gunwales, so we pulled up outside the old Illinois Waterway buildings and tied up to the small dock outside the administration buildings. The buildings covered half the canal, and were in decent shape, but no one was available to run the locks anymore, and they wouldn’t serve a purpose if we did.

  We all got out and stretched out legs, and Sarah and Rebecca walked off to the far side of the building and went inside. One of the weird things about the Upheaval is the toilets worked pretty much most of the time. If you poured a bucket of water into the tanks, they worked. The world had gone to shit, but you could still flush it down. Go figure.

  Charlie and I stepped over to the lock and took turns peeing off the gate. It was a kid thing to do, but what the hell. We turned back to the building when the front door blew open and Rebecca stumbled out, falling to the ground. Sarah was right behind her and tripped over her prone form, tumbling close to the water.

  A nasty-looking zombie came bouncing off the closing door. He used to be a teenager, judging by what clothing he had left on him, and the gold chain still dangling around his grey neck. His face was shredded, but his eyes were still functioning. He rammed into the door, pushing it outward, allowing him to exit the building. Behind him, another zombie hit the door; this one was skeletal with an arm cut off at the elbow. The door hadn’t closed completely, allowing the second zombie to start coming out.

  Rebecca and Sarah recovered from their falls, and squared off against their attackers. Charlie and I stayed back a ways, b
ut had our rifles up and trained on the Z’s should the fight look go badly.

  “Bet you a gun cleaning Rebecca finishes hers off first,” Charlie said out of the side of his mouth.

  “Done. Even though she was closer.” I had a lot of confidence in Sarah.

  Rebecca swung her melee weapon, a three-foot piece of hickory, topped with a ball peen hammer, ground to a point. The metal cracked into the zombie’s knee, breaking the joint and tumbling the ghoul to the ground.

  Sarah jumped and side-kicked the second zombie in the sternum, propelling him backwards into the building. The zombie slammed backwards and fell down.

  Immediately, both Zs struggled to get up, the one without the arm having a bit more difficulty. Sarah stepped forward and used her knife, a seven-inch wonder that could easily remove a hand if needed. The needle tip slid neatly through the eye, puncturing the brain and killing the zombie for good.

  Rebecca swung high just as Sarah had stepped forward, and smacked the ghoul right on top of the head. There was a loud crack, and the zombie dropped to the ground, finally at rest.

  I looked over at Charlie and we both said the same thing, “Tie.” We stepped quickly over to the women and I scanned the interior of the building while Charlie checked the shore for activity.

  I turned to Sarah. “All good? What happened?”

  Sarah wiped off her blade and sheathed it. “Went to the bathroom and these two came bumbling out. Couldn’t tell how many for sure with the echoes in there, so we retreated.”

  Rebecca spoke up. “If we had been sure there was only two, we’d have stayed and killed them.”

  No doubt. Sarah and Rebecca were combat veterans of the Zombie Wars and were more than capable of handling themselves. They trained almost as much as Charlie and I did. I looked over the building and saw there was nothing really out of place. These two must have come here infected at some point, and revived inside. Just our bad luck or more to the point, theirs, that we were the first ones to come back to them.