United States of the Dead - 04 Read online

  “Yep. Here we go.” I loosed my SIG in its holster, just in case. I called back to the RV with the radio and let Duncan know we probably weren’t alone on the island and to look sharp.

  Tommy and I walked around the plowed field, noting that the regularity of the plowing meant that whoever had done this was using farm equipment and not doing it by hand. We reached the far edge and decided to take the south path first. I pointed out to Tommy that the service road had gotten a lot better. At this point it was paved, with a faint yellow line running along the edges.

  We strolled easily on the road and peeked through the south opening of the trees and were surprised to be greeted by a large Holstein cow. The big grass eater was munching long stems along the fence by the road and paused to look us over with her big brown eyes before deciding we were harmless. Our sudden appearance woke up several other bovine ladies who wandered by for a closer look. Tommy patted one on the nose and gave the wooden fence a slight shove. The boards held, but a cow could easily break down a section.

  “Smart thinking,” he said critically.

  “What’s that?” I said as I counted fifteen cows.

  “The fence is strong enough to keep a zombie from breaking it down, but if the cows were ever attacked, they could break out and escape if need be,” Tommy said.

  “Wonder what we’ll see on the north side.” I asked, curious about the caretakers of this island.

  We moved quickly, our curiosity moving our feet a little faster than normal. When we emerged from the trees, we were somewhat disappointed to see just a field, but it was apparent this was a grazing land for the cows, rotated so the grass didn’t get overgrazed.

  “Okay, well, the last place to look would be down the road to Grandma’s house,” Tommy said.

  I looked where he was pointing and the road went due East, disappearing into the woods. Trees lined the road and it had an almost claustrophobic feel to it. I pulled my pickaxe out and kept it in hand, just in case. Tommy saw my move and mirrored it. I doubted we would see any undead on this island, but sometimes you just never knew.

  I don’t know what I expected to see when we reached the far opening. At most, I figured we might see a caretaker’s house, since the service road must have been built for somebody. But since I didn’t know anything about this area or this island, everything was a guess.

  After a brief walk, we came on to what seemed to actually be a caretaker’s house on the left side of the road. It was a large, two story affair, with a couple of sheds near the road. A brief look showed the house to be in pretty good shape, surrounded by thick woods. It would be hard for zombies to storm the place, if they could ever get across the river in force. But since they couldn’t, this would make a decent place to hole up for a while. But as interesting as the house was, it didn’t answer the question as to who plowed the field and who was taking care of the cows.

  What was even more interesting was the white face staring down at Tommy and myself as we goggled around the front yard. Just as I looked up, the face vanished and I turned back to Tommy.

  “Did you see that?” I asked, pointing at the house.

  Tommy shook his head. “No, what did you see? Z?”

  “Not sure, but given how fast it disappeared, I’d say it was alive,” I said, staring hard at the house, trying to pull up my x-ray vision superpower. No luck.

  “Investigate?”

  “Not yet. I want to finish looking this island over. We can come back in a minute.”

  We left the house and its mysterious occupant and continued down the road. Three hundred feet further, there was a clearing on the left, which wasn’t interesting, but through the thinning of the trees, I could see another house and that was interesting. My initial glimpse was the house was huge, which really threw me for a loop. What it was doing here and who built it were relevant questions.

  We walked a bit more and seeing a walkway conveniently placed, we moved out onto a decently manicured lawn. A large white building was to our left, connected by an open-air walkway to a large mansion. A second open-air walkway connected to another outbuilding and my first impression of the building was it reminded me of Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia. In fact, if I had to guess, this home was built to resemble Washington’s home, so close they were in appearance.

  Tommy whistled appreciatively, since neither he nor I had expected to see such a structure out here on an island. But it just goes to show that in this country, surprises lay around every turn. Which is one of the reasons I wanted to save it so badly, needed to save it from the likes of Thorton.

  “I wonder if anyone’s home?” I asked, starting towards the front door, but Tommy held out a hand.

  “I’d say so,” he said ominously, pointing to the second floor.

  I looked. “Oh.”

  There were four windows on the top floor that faced the front and in every one of them, a rifle was sticking out, pointed in our direction. We were in a bad spot and would quickly be cut down if we tried to run or fight.

  I put my hands on my hips to assess the situation, but in truth I was turning on my radio and locking the ‘send’ button. The rest of the crew would be able to hear me and take whatever necessary action needed. I hoped it wouldn’t be for revenge.

  I tried diplomacy. I raised my hands to chest level and called out. “Hello the house! My name is John Talon and I would like to talk to the man or woman in charge!”

  After a few seconds a voice called out. “Why are you here? What do you want?”

  I called back. “I just want to talk. Nothing more.”

  A small, thickset man with dark curly hair opened the main door and stepped out onto the small porch under the front door awning. “If you just want to talk, drop your weapons and come forward.”

  “No,” I said quickly.

  “What?” The man was startled and began to get red-faced. Clearly he had not been challenged much in his life.

  “I said no, I’m not dropping my weapons. I don’t mean you or yours any harm, I just want to talk,” I said. I could see some of the rifles shift a bit as the hidden marksmen absorbed my words.

  “You plan on dying on my lawn? I can have my people shoot you and your friend down right now.” The man seemed sure of himself and I got the impression he might have given the order a few times in the past.

  “That’s true, you could. But you should know that I take a good deal of killing and I’ll surely get one or two of your people before I’m cashed. And for sure I’ll kill you first, mister. That much I can guarantee.” I decided to match him bluster for bluster.

  Well, I could tell he didn’t like that at all, since he was as exposed as I was. I had shifted my hands downward and they were on my hips again, just an inch from my gun. I knew from practice I could get that gun out in a hurry. Actually hitting a target from that distance with a quick draw was another matter, but I wasn’t about to admit that to this guy.

  “You got sand, pal,” he said brusquely. “All right. Come up to the house. Let’s palaver.”

  Tommy tapped my arm and mouthed, “Palaver?” as we walked up to the front door. I noted the rifles had withdrawn from the windows. Doubtless the bodyguards would be in force when we reached the main entrance.

  I chuckled. “I have a feeling about this. Let me do the talking. Keep your eyes on the guards.”

  Tommy nodded as we approached the front door. The house was big, but not on the scale of some later generational mansions. But in its day, I’m sure it was amazing.

  We stepped inside the main entrance hall and were immediately struck by the simple beauty of the building. A large stairwell arched upwards to the second floor, while a dramatic fireplace dominated the room. Antique furnishings completed the picture and I was admiring the mantle work when a gruff voice called us into the room on the south side of the building. Two stone-faced men with hunting rifles met us and gave us hard stares until a voice called from the other room.

  “In here!”
r />   I smiled at Tommy and our bodyguards and went through a small doorway to a huge banquet room. Dark walnut paneling gave the room a gloomy look, even though light spilled through a south window. A large table was set up in the middle of the floor, while a couple of couches kept vigil against the north wall. Large bookcases lined the back wall and I could see a large collection of Louis L’Amour books, confirming my suspicions about this man’s nature and mannerisms.

  The man himself sat at the head of the table, with two men situated behind him. The men looked uncomfortable in their roles, but I suspected they were ordered to be there as a show of force. The head guy was unremarkable physically, but his eyes were another matter. They were fiercely blue and intense enough to make you uncomfortable. I got the impression this was a man used to getting his own way, lording it over his people like a feudal baron. In all honesty, I didn’t care what he did. But to his point of view, I was trespassing and needed his permission to continue on his land.

  I started the ball, taking control of the conversation like I used to do when I was an administrator in another life, keeping an unruly parent off balance. “Name’s John Talon. I have a crew with me on the other side of this island. We had a run in with a group of men who are intent on destroying the Constitution and Bill of Rights. They’re led by a murderer named Thorton, travelling like military, even though they’re not. We’re on our way to D.C. to stop them and take the documents to a safe place.”

  Those blue eyes stared at me for a minute. “I’m Ed Mulvaney. When the shit went down I took what was mine and made a run for this island. Took several people with me and we spent the first year fighting off the zombies and other riffraff. Spent the next year getting this place where we could actually live without the danger of killing a zombie for breakfast every day.

  “We watched Parkersburg turn into a dead zone, but managed to keep ourselves safe. We don’t need anyone or anything.” His tone was belligerent and I couldn’t figure out why, but managed it when he said. “I fought for this island and don’t plan on giving it up without a fight!”

  I saw where he was coming from. He probably figured someone would tell him he couldn’t keep the place he fought for and wanted to make sure we knew he would fight.

  I tried diplomacy. “Mr. Mulvaney, I’m not interested in your island. Fact is, if I was to tell you that you had no right to be here I’d be the worst kind of hypocrite. If you’ve made a life here you’ve certainly earned it. But I have to tell you one thing. When I secure the founding documents and make sure they’re safe, we’re putting together a new government, with new laws. As a citizen of this country, those laws will apply to you.”

  His response didn’t surprise me. Ed banged the table and shouted, “I’m the law here! What I say goes or it doesn’t go. That’s it! You got that, Talon?”

  I stayed calm. “I’m not interfering in how you run your affairs. If the people around you are interested in staying with you and are willing to conform to your rules, fine. But,” I said, hardening my tone, “You will abide by the laws that will be set forth by the convention we will be having shortly. This country will not fall into a bunch of feudal lands ruled by miniature kings. Once we finish our work out here, we will be gearing up to wage war on the zombies. You will be expected to comply.” I never broke eye contact and it was clear he didn’t like being spoken to in that manner. But I meant every word and he knew it.

  Ed grumped mightily. “How are you going to enforce your laws? I could gun you down right now and no one would do anything about it.” He was playing a bluff hand, but he was game.

  I put the radio on the table. “Once these guys are done with you, I imagine there wouldn’t be much left. Right, Duncan?”

  Duncan’s voice crackled through loud and clear. “Say the word and we’ll clean house right now, boss.”

  Ed jumped as the voice sounded loudly in the hall. He probably thought Tommy and I were just drifters. I finished his argument for him.

  “Mr. Mulvaney, right now we are facing over two hundred and fifty million zombies, give or take a million. I need every hand I can get to start the fight to wipe them clean off the map and make this country run again. I need independent men like you to help put things in order. With so many dead, there’s land to spare. Why the hell should I care about your little island when I can claim millions of acres elsewhere? If you want a fight, fine, I can get two hundred men here in three weeks and we’ll shove your island up your ass. But I’d rather have your help.”

  Ed looked shocked, then deflated. He was up against it and his bluster was not going to cut it this time. He glared at me. “I can keep this land and house, long as I follow your laws?”

  I knew when to be gracious. “I never wanted them. You earned them. But I could use your help with the coming fight. Can I count on you and yours to lend a hand?”

  Ed nodded. “Done. You need supplies or anything?”

  I shook my head. “We’re good, thanks.” I was grateful not to have to fight this old bird or his brood. They looked capable, although how much actual fighting they have done staying on this island was anyone’s guess. I did have a question, though.

  “Ed, there might be some men who are following us and they are not to be trusted. They look like military, but they’re not. Are you able to handle a serious assault?”

  Ed looked at me funny and said, “I think you’re a little late, son. We saw what looked like a military convoy pass by earlier this morning. They barely got away from the dead at Parkersburg, driving across the railroad bridge.”

  Inwardly, I cursed. I was hoping we were much further ahead of Thorton than a few hours. This was going to make things harder to say the least.

  “That was them. Glad they passed you by. We need to get going then, it was a pleasure to meet all of you.” I stood up, ending the conversation.

  Ed stood and spoke up. “Where’s your convention going to be and who can go?” he asked, hooking his big hands into his belt.

  I turned to the door. “Leport, in Illinois. We’ll be meeting in the fall, if we finish this business first. You’re welcome, or one of your folks here.”

  Ed nodded. “That’ll do. We’ll get a say on the laws?”

  It was my turn to nod. “We’ll vote on the big ones, majority rules.” I actually hadn’t thought that far ahead, but it made sense.

  “Good enough. We’ll be there.” Ed came around the table and held out his hand.

  I shook it, appreciating the gesture. “Ask for Nate. He’ll set you up. Now, we need to get going. Thanks for your hospitality.”

  “Anytime.” Mulvaney seemed genuinely pleased by the outcome of the meeting and I figured he would. There wasn’t a need to fight, he keeps his land and can help rebuild a country. A win all around.

  Stepping out on the lawn, Tommy pointed to a thin column of smoke rising from the east. From this distance, it looked to be small, but the roiling of the smoke at the base told me it was a decent fire and was far enough away to look small.

  “Thorton, you think?” Tommy asked.

  “No idea,” I said, but inside I had a feeling we were on a collision course.

  As we headed back onto the roads that would take us to the RV, my radio suddenly spoke up.

  “Hey John?” It was Duncan.

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “We got company. Watch yourselves if you’re coming back now.”

  “Live?”

  “Nope.”

  “Everyone okay? How many?” I got concerned, since Nate had gone to the river virtually unarmed.

  Duncan laughed. “About fifteen. Yeah, we’re fine, but Nate’s pissed.”

  “Why?”

  Duncan was cryptic. “You’ll see. I’m going to head up top and…dammit!” I heard a loud banging and awful groaning in the background.

  “Duncan? Duncan?” I shouted into the radio.

  A full minute passed and Tommy and I exchanged some concerned looks. The radio popped again.

  �
�All right, we’re good. Sucker just surprised me. I may not be going up top. Good luck. See you. Duncan out.”

  I exhaled slowly and Tommy and I both started walking quickly back towards the RV. I felt very underpowered, having left my heavy weapons back in the RV. But, I had faced hordes before with just my pick, so I needed to see the situation before I got depressed about it. Besides, I was curious as hell over why Nate was pissed.

  As we jogged along the service road, throwing a wave to the curious cows, I said to Tommy, “Frozen zombies.”

  Tommy nearly stumbled as my words registered. “W-What?”

  “Frozen zombies. Living things, even slightly living, shouldn’t be able to freeze solid in the winter then reanimate when they warm up. Throws your theory out the window,” I said smugly.

  “Ever heard of carpenter ants?” Tommy said.

  “Yeah, used to kill a dozen or so after every rainfall. So?”

  Tommy smiled. “They have a natural antifreeze that keeps them from freezing and dying. Virus could do the same for vital systems. Extremities could be allowed to freeze, but the brain and heart could still be active.”

  I hated to say it made sense, but then walking corpses defied logic so here we are in Ohio. Whatever sense that made.

  We passed the tilled fields and made our way into the woods. After a couple hundred feet I could hear the telltale sign of zombies. The groaning was loud and persistent, like they had treed their prey and were frustrated it wouldn’t politely come down and be eaten.

  We approached the small glade of trees that surrounded the RV and I wasn’t looking forward to a fight in the woods. Trees and branches had an irritating habit of tangling up your weapons, getting in your line of sight and making you trip when you least could afford to. I inched forward with my SIG out and Tommy was about fifteen feet to my left, moving slowly with his Glock.

  As we got closer, I could finally see the situation clearly. There were about ten zombies milling about the RV, while over by the side of the river I could see five more standing, shifting from side to side, groaning their heads off and raising their arms up and down in an attempt to get at what was in the river.