Storiesonline.net ------- The Escape by terriblethom Copyright© 2012 by terriblethom ------- Description: I decided to do a Zombie Story that deals with the live people and working the Zombies in as I go. Codes: PostApoc ------- ------- This is copyrighted to Thomas Bailey and is intended to be used and distributed strictly for reading and entertainment purposes. Any changes or unauthorized use or republication without the Author's permission will result in criminal prosecution. This notice is to be kept among the pages and not removed. ------- Prologue Since I have never done one of these before I will try to give the readers a brief synopsis of the story you are about to read and, I hope, enjoy. I am sure a lot of you are like me and read the zombie stories that seem to show up on a regular basis on the different story sites. I know I do and enjoy most of them, and laugh at a lot of them. You know what I am talking about, the half rotten corpse wandering around in circles biting the living and turning them into the same said corpses. Since I am presently at a standstill with my other story, I decided to write a Zombie story from a different angle, focusing on the living side of the story and work the zombies in as the story progresses. I based the story around the small town I live in and all characters are either fictional or based on close friends, but you won't know who they are. The descriptions of the countryside and towns are reasonably accurate as are the names of the small towns around my area. I realize that the story is a little dry and the first part of it is mostly acquainting you with the people and happenings, but hopefully you will enjoy the characters and feel a certain kinship as the story progresses. So sit back and let me try to entertain you, and hopefully you will enjoy the tale. Oh, and while it is in my mind, if I get too many negative feedbacks I will pull the story, because negative feedback to me is a sure sign the story is disliked. Suggestions and thoughts about the story are always welcome and while I may like some of them, I may or may not use them. If I do use a suggestion or advice, I will as always give the credit where it is due. So begins The Escape! ------- Chapter 1 Well, after a year I had finally accomplished my goal. I had found a small line cabin, as I called it, up in the mountains in a small valley. It took me months to track down the owner and have him set a price on it. That included the four acres that the whole valley and the small rough road that got me there. He included the mineral rights that went with it as he said he didn't have a use for them. When I went to the county seat to register the quit claim deed, I found out that two acres were in Arizona, two acres were in New Mexico, and the cabin straddled the line. I didn't have to go to New Mexico to file since the original deed was registered in Arizona and they would do the paperwork and send it on. I had paid all the fees when the clerk asked me if I wanted to transfer the old quartz mine to my name since it was listed as part of the property. Of course like an idiot I did, and there went another hundred dollars down the drain. She was able to show me on the map where it was supposed to be located. I hadn't seen it when walking over the area. Now that I was legal, it was time to do some of the repairs to be able to move in. Six months later, I finally got everything ready. I had even been able to enclose the small spring on the valley wall and piped it to the cabin. When the inspector showed up it was a big surprise, but he rapidly told me it was just a routine visit since I was only doing repairs and not building. Some kind of BLM rule required the inspection since I was surrounded on all sides by free range. They had to make sure I wasn't polluting the grazing outside the valley. Hell, it was sand everywhere you looked except where I was located. There was about a half an acre of heavy grass near the spring and then nothing but sand everywhere else around the valley. There was only one way in and I had put up a metal gate to close off the road and hung "No Trespassing" signs on it. The valley walls were about thirty feet high in a large oval. It would be an excellent wind break during the monsoon season and the dust storms would blow around me. Anyway, he looked around, had a cup of coffee, said he couldn't see any problems, and climbed back in his truck and left. (I know you're wondering when the story starts, hang in there with me and we will get going as soon as I get the small crap out of the way.) There wasn't much work to be had in the nearby small town, so I had befriended a couple of the local guys who hauled in firewood all winter and stacked it by the cabin. It was mostly mesquite logs, if you could call them logs, but they did burn hot and threw out a lot of heat. They also helped me with the lifting since I have a bad back. They mostly wanted beer and a few bucks for smokes. It worked out great for me since my small VA pension only let me have so much to work with. I made a deal with Zeke, an old fella that used to have a junkyard. He had a 7.5 kw propane generator out of an RV that he sold me cheap. Now you probably are wondering where all the money was coming from, but you have to remember I had been planning something like this for several years. Every month I bought dry goods and anything else I thought I would need when I finally found the place I wanted. Over the last three years I had been able to store quite a lot, buying bulk and online. I made do but didn't have much left over at the end of the month until my next check came into the bank. The first night I stayed at the cabin, I didn't get much sleep because of all the new sounds around me, but mostly because of the quiet. I had been living in town close to I-10 and between the traffic and the trains going through at all hours of the night and day, there wasn't much quiet to be had there. Well, when I got up at sunrise, I fixed my coffee and had a bowl of oatmeal before hooking up the pickup bed trailer to my Crown Vic and heading out to get my generator. We had made an enclosure for it out of stone behind the cabin to protect it from the elements. I had already wired the cabin so other than the propane tank; it was ready to be connected. Wiring it up I could do without messing up my back. I had asked old Zeke to find me some tanks but I hadn't heard if he had found anything. I made arrangements with the guys to meet at the small truck stop and store nearby to do all the heavy lifting. When I picked up the guys at the store, they were all excited about some new flu virus that was spreading all over the east coast. I didn't pay much attention but headed directly to Zeke's. When we arrived, Zeke met us outside his shop with a big smile on his face. "Well you owe me an extra fifty bucks." "For what, Zeke? I thought we had settled on the price last month." "We did, but there were a few extra expenses I didn't count on. Besides, I not only got you a five hundred pound tank, but also three fifty pound tanks. Since you were nice enough to pay me cash before you even picked it up, I decided to spend the time to rebuild the whole thing. I had most of what was needed lying around the shop. Now, are you going to tell me that isn't worth fifty bucks?" I just grinned, counted out the fifty, and handed it to him. We followed him into the shop and I was surprised to see the generator bolted to a couple of short 8x8 rafter logs and running off a twenty pound tank. The thing was so quiet I didn't realize it was running till I put my hand on it and felt the vibration. I looked at Zeke with a shocked expression and he was grinning at me and laughing. "Well, since you said you were putting it in a stone enclosure, I added another muffler and a longer exhaust pipe so the noise wouldn't echo. I doubt that inside that cabin of yours you will be able to hear it running. Besides, it was just junk I had lying around here and it gave me something to do. That thing has been running since yesterday afternoon when I finished putting it back together. It hasn't even used half of that bottle of propane, so if you fill the tanks I got you and hook them together, they should last you a long damned time. Oh, and ole Jerry down at the old station in Rodeo said he has enough propane to fill them a lot cheaper that you will find in Willcox or Safford. I suggest you drop the generator and come back for the tanks and go get them filled. I have a small hand cranked lift that will pick up the tanks that you can attach to your pickup bed. You can bring it back after you get the tanks installed at home. Don't worry about the weight as it is rated for 10 tons. I also have the hose and regulators already assembled that will let you hook them in series. Then you can pick out which tank to run off of. Let's get her loaded." I wasn't much help, but with the three of them it was loaded and the winch attached in less than a half an hour. All in all, it took less than an hour and a half to load, unload it in the enclosure and load the empty tanks. I headed to Jerry's to fill the propane tanks. The drive was longer than anything else and by 2 in the afternoon we were on the way back to the cabin. It took us longer to build a base for the round RV tanks than it did to unload them. The big tank I put on the end to make it easier to get to since I was planning on using up the RV tanks first. I won't say what Jerry charged me to fill them, but I will say it was over two hundred dollars cheaper than what it would have cost me at either of the commercial plants. I was glad it was almost the end of the month as I didn't have much left in the bank. I bought the guys a 12-pack each and several pouches of rolling tobacco. They were happy as I was when I headed back to the cabin to hook up everything. Now me being the normal man, I hadn't realized what a mess I would run into in order to hook up the generator to the cabin wiring, and the three burner stove and oven I had bought out of a wrecked RV. Old dummy me had forgotten I had to install a convertor to go from ac to dc current. As you can tell, I wasn't an electrician, so I had to go to my friends to download and print detailed instructions on how to wire it up. Since the lights in the cabin were 12 volt and the plugs were 115 volt, I hadn't realized what a pain it was gonna be. ------- Chapter 2 Well, now it was Tuesday and last night I had my first shower in my cabin. Man did that feel great, but it made me realize I had another problem; the hot water tank was too small. Since it was the first of the month and I had money, I decided to go to town and buy a bigger one. I had put in a 6 gallon one out of an RV and in my own defense, I thought it would be big enough for one person if you were fast. Wrong! If you have a bad hip and knee and a bad back, hot water is a miracle treatment when you're hurting from too much bending and twisting. I had let the hot water run on my back last night and by the time I got soaped up to wash it was pure cold water from the spring. Man, you talk about an eye opener! I made up my mind then and there I was getting a bigger tank if I had to drive all the way to Tucson to find one. No more cold showers for me! Besides, I had a shipment of ammo coming in that should have been delivered yesterday if UPS was on time. My friend BK would sign for it, so I knew it should be there and I needed to pick it up. My friend BK and I were shooting freaks and we were always ordering something on sale from the online gun sites. This time I had ordered several thousand rounds of sixty grain 22 long rifle ammo. It had been on sale so I snatched it up. I had a 22 rifle and pistol that I loved to plink with and a 9mm pistol. Now BK was into the long rifles and had several that he used, but where I liked open sights, BK loved scopes. He would get lost in his own little world shooting at targets you couldn't see with the naked eye. I hated scopes and always have, but then again I preferred pistols. It took me a year to persuade him to even buy one and after he did, he had a lot of fun with it, even if he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I was on the main road when I remembered I had forgotten to bring the trailer so back I went. When I walked into the hardware store in Willcox, the only people I saw were the employees. I found a thirty gallon hot water heater that was 115 volt and spoke for it immediately. I had plenty of extra pvc and all the extras in a pile out back of the cabin, so the only expense I had was the tank itself. The clerk loaded it and tied it down for me so I headed back to BK's place to check on my ammo. When I walked in, he was reloading shells as usual. I figured he had bought more brass from the company I bought the ammo from. "Hey old man, your 22s are here. How damned many more did you buy? He had to cart them in on a dolly. Did you get the generator hooked up yet? I plan on coming out next week to do some shooting and will bring the long tape to measure off yards. Hey, have you heard about this new flu? They are saying it has a 94% death rate. It started on the east coast, but when I was at Mom's yesterday, they said it had spread to Texas and that they were considering implementing Martial Law to control the panic. The hospitals are turning people away and telling them to stay home and drink plenty of liquids." "The guys mentioned it last week, but since I can't even get cell or radio out there that was all I heard about it. I ordered 5,000 rounds since they were half off. Besides, I been wanting some of the 60 gr to try out. I wonder if they will be accurate beyond a hundred yards." "Well, they should be, but we will have to try them out. You got room out there for me to stay a couple of days? Since you moved out, I ain't got no one to yell at. I thought maybe I would come out and see this place you been braggin' about. It's just too damned quiet around here all by myself." He gave me a shit eating grin and went back to priming brass while I carried the ammo out to the trailer. He was right about one thing though, I did miss having him around. We had been roommates for several years and gotten comfortable with each other's company. We were a couple of old farts that had the same hobby and enjoyed each other's company most of the time. Of course we stayed in our rooms and took turns cooking meals when we felt like it, which wasn't often. Since I no longer had internet, I had to come here to get online, but that just gave me an excuse to come to town. I bid him goodbye and said I would see him next week sometime, and headed back to the cabin. I got the tank hooked up and was sitting back smoking my pipe and sipping coffee when I heard a horn honking. I grabbed the binoculars and looked up at the gate. There was a Sheriff's car sitting there, so I got up and headed up to see what was going on. It was my friend the deputy that lived down the road and the news he had wasn't great. "I know you heard about this new flu, but there is something I need to tell you about that hasn't been on the radio or TV. They sent all law enforcement a bulletin advising us to immediately burn the bodies of the dead. If this hadn't come from CDC I would have laughed, but they are coming back alive after they die." "How the hell can someone come back alive after they die, Barry? You mean they are zombies?" "From what they told us, if we run across any of them we are to immediately shoot them in the head. Hell, Thom, if I knew the answer to it I would tell you. How are you set for ammo? I have a couple extra cases of 9mm if you need some. I would appreciate some 22s for my kid's guns if you have any extra. I am going to make sure my family is safe and I taught those kids how to shoot so I know they will be ok. I went to Wal-Mart in Benson and Safford, but they were out of everything, even guns. They are going crazy in the bigger cities and everyone is afraid to go outside. The Sheriff told us to stay in our home towns and protect the people there, and not worry about answering calls unless it is close to where we live. When I bring up a case of nines, I will bring that extra ATV with me so you don't have to walk to the gate. I know it kills your hip 'cause I watched you start limping about half way here. Thom, it might be best if you stock up on some gas for your car and the ATV. If they shut down the interstate we won't have a way to resupply anytime soon. I have been hauling in extra food and other supplies all week. I know everyone around here has been doing the same thing. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone but you're one of us." "Thanks, Barry, give me a ride to the cabin and I will get those 22s for you, and see if there's anything else you might need. I have enough bulk food for a year, but fresh meat is what I can kill 'cause I just have a small refrigerator for milk and butter. Of course I could start rustling, but knowing my neighbors they would hang me then call the law." To say the news was good would be to lie, but I figured out here we wouldn't be bothered too much. Besides, I had fixed the cabin up to withstand a siege, although if asked, I would not be able to tell you why I did it. It was two huge rooms when I bought it, but I had changed it into two small bedrooms with bunk beds in both. Mine had one of those metal beds with a single on top and a full on the bottom that folded up into a couch for extra seating. I had mounted 12 volt fans near the top of the doorways to help heat the small rooms, and with the wood burner, I was sure it would heat the whole cabin. Last winter when it got down in the twenties, I had stoked it up and it kept it almost 60 degrees in the whole cabin. Since I was only experimenting, I also let smoke in so I could see where the leaks were, and boy there were a lot of them. I finally ended up putting sheets of galvanized tin over the wooden shingles on the roof. I hung gutters to catch the rain water for the garden I might have time to put in someday. With the small 12 volt fans near the ceiling, none of the heat was wasted as it kept circulating around the top of the cabin. I had also foam sealed the base as well as mortared the foundation stones to keep the air out from under the floors. There was 2 inches of foam insulation between the rafters of the roof that kept the heat in so I didn't lose much. I still hadn't found the quartz mine and the fella I bought the cabin from was back east. He was visiting his daughter, and I wondered if he was ok. He would know where it was at, when and if he came back. "Here are 1500 rounds that should shoot just fine in their Rugers, Barry. If they need more, I have quite a few rounds stored away. Barry, if it comes to nut cracking, all of you are welcome here. Your place is pretty exposed, but the only way in here is the way you just came in. The logs in this old place are thick as hell and the door is steel. I have custom made steel shutters I can put across the two windows that I bought at a home repair place in Safford. I have inside water as well as electricity from my generator and the ten solar panels I have on the roof. There is no cover out there so they can't sneak up on me." "Thanks, I appreciate that. I will let the kids and my wife know when I get back home. If it comes to that, we will consider this a fallback position. Thom, if it gets that bad, we will be on our own out here so don't trust any strangers. I will see you tomorrow." I rode back to the gate with him, giving him an extra key to the lock. As I walked back to the cabin I wondered if it was really gonna get that bad. Boy was I in for a rude awakening in my senior years. ------- Chapter 3 I woke up soaking wet and breathing heavy. Damn, I thought, I hope my dreams weren't starting again. The services called it PTSD, but me, like all the guys who have served, had another name for it. I started the coffee and took a shower and although I stood under the hot water for a long time, I never ran out. I got dressed and took a cup of coffee out to one of the lawn chairs under the overhang in front of the cabin. It had been only two foot out but when I replaced the roof, I extended it by four feet so I would have somewhere to sit in the shade during the summer. I was looking around thinking about defense when I heard a horn and saw Barry coming down the road from the gate. I noticed even though he was in a 4x4, he was taking it real easy on the narrow raised part of the drive from the gate. 'Till it hit the valley floor, it was about a fifteen foot drop off straight down. Hmm, I thought, that's another fix I can set up as well as a bell on the other side of the valley wall to warn me that someone is coming up the drive. That would be easy to set up, I thought, as Barry backed up to where I was sitting, getting out with a smile. "Boy, we are now cut off and the kids send their thanks for the 22s. We had a meeting last night and the freeway entrances into town as well as the frontage road are now barricaded. Martial law has been set into effect and traveling has been suspended anywhere except where you live. Thom, Tucson has been hit with this flu and they are having riots all over the city. We heard Phoenix is on complete shutdown with Law Enforcement being told to shoot rioters and looters. I have been delegated with the Search and Rescue guys here to man the barricades. The old ranchers in the area are coming out of the woodwork volunteering to do this. Some of those old men still think this is like the Apache Raids we used to have around this area. This old ATV has a lot of hours on it, but it runs like it did when it was new. I had the shop go over it last month and they said it was still in excellent condition." "Barry, not to change the subject, but what kind of condition is that old log cabin of yours in? That house of yours with all those windows wouldn't stand up to a raid if it happens. There's too many ways to get in, and way too many doors and windows." "Well I have kept it up and did all the repairs on it when they moved it back to build the house. My mother in law stayed in it for a month when she was here last year and loved it. Besides, we were glad 'cause she snores so loud it keeps all of us awake. It's all hooked up to the well and electric and septic. That thing has logs that are bigger than yours and I have no idea what kind of wood they used. I do know the termites haven't messed with it and I had it sprayed with that new sealant that retards fires." "Well, if it was me I would stock it and move to it immediately if trouble breaks out at the front house. Barry, you might talk to Zeke about a generator like I have if the electricity goes out. I would also make thick shutters to put up to protect the window glass. While I am thinking about it, can I borrow your tractor with the scoop and backhoe attachment? I need to enclose my propane tanks and do a few other things while I have the time." "Sure. I will send Shelly over with it to help. Thom, she runs that damned thing like she was born on it. Now this 9mm I have is loose rounds packed 5,000 rounds to a case. The department bought I don't know how many cases from the military last year and they let us all buy 2 cases each if we wanted it. I have shot it at the range and never had a misfire. I have another surprise, but if you tell anyone I will shoot you." With that he picked up a flat crate and set it on the kitchen table and popped the top off. Grenades! They looked just like the ones we used in Nam and I recognized the colored rings around them immediately as range use. They used to use the colored rings for identification so they didn't screw up what we were practicing with. "There are six of each and I can tell by the grin on that ugly puss of yours that you recognized them. You only have six of each so keep them for emergencies. Don't tell anyone where they came from. An old rancher had a whole damned wall stacked up with them and he gave me six cases of each and one to all his friends. Now I don't know if you kept up, but the orange ring color is WP. They used to be for flechette but they changed them several years ago. You have six HE and six WP. I hope you don't need them but if you do you will have them. The ATV has a full tank and there are a couple of extra quarts of oil. I will put it under the overhang in front and the key is in it. I suggest you get to the truck stop and get cans and your car filled while there is fuel to do so. I have to head out so I will send Shelly over in about ten minutes and I will leave the gate open for her. Just tell her what you need and turn her loose. Oh, and in case you don't know, she is a Coke drinker and will demand one to drink while she is here. I hope this helps you out, and if I need help, you will come a runnin'." With that he laughed and unloaded the ATV and was gone in a cloud of dust, leaving me to drag that dammed heavy case of ammo to the corner where I kept all of mine. I put the grenades in the kitchen cupboard where they would be easy to get to without having to dig for them through all the other boxes of ammo. He had taken off before I could get some more 22s out to give him. I knew I had over 10,000 rounds stacked in the corner along with my 9mm boxes and now this crate of loose rounds. BK was gonna go crazy with all of this 9mm. He had bought a small 9mm carbine that he immediately named Little Ugly. That thing was like an extra arm whenever we went out shooting. Oh well, I would give Shelly a thousand rounds when she went back home. Maybe then she would forgive me for not having a cold Coke for her. I would pick up some from the truck stop when I went in later if we got done in time today. I doubted if they would be open 24 hours with the blockades in place. I had just finished repacking all the ammo when I heard the tractor coming down the drive. I stepped out front just as she stopped in front of the cabin. "Hey, Dad said you had some work for me to do. Boy, I hope it takes awhile because I am bored to death. They shut down the school and the town took it over as an emergency shelter. So what do you need done?" I motioned her down off of the machine, and we walked around to the back of the cabin so I could show her what I wanted her to do. I had another idea whirling around in my head, so I showed her what she needed to do and where to get the fill to do it. She just gave me a big grin and ran back around the cabin and had the tractor going before I could get there. She took off for the far wall where there were piles of stone all along the edges while I got on the ATV, taking several minutes to figure out how to run it since I had never operated one before. I finally got it going and headed off to the bottom of the drive, scoping out in my mind what I wanted to do. When I got there, I shut down the ATV and walked all around the edge of the drive, looking at the bottom, trying to make the picture come out of what I wanted to do here. I stepped back, looking at the angle of the drive, and then it all came together. I was grinning as I climbed back on the ATV and headed to the top of the drive to look at the upward angle of the hill on the other side. I wanted to see where I could set up a beam or something of that nature to ring a bell at the cabin, letting me know when someone was driving in. I still couldn't figure out a way to do what I wanted to do after walking over half of the ridge at the top of the wall that my drive had been cut through. I finally gave it up as a lost cause and stopped at the gate, looking at ways to reinforce it so it couldn't be rammed without doing a lot of damage to whatever hit it. I knew the one I had up now was pretty flimsy and not a deterrent to someone wanting to get in bad enough. Then it hit me. I remembered Zeke had a big pile of 4in well casing in five foot lengths. If I did it right, I could make one hell of a gate that would take a dozer to get through. I had the Sakrete, and the two posts I had now were well casing in the ground four feet with concrete holding them. I could add on to this and make it an easy barrier. There were only about four inches between them and the valley walls so it would be hard for anyone of any size to squeeze in. I had mounted them both as close to the walls as I could get but this had made a big gap in the gate on the end where I had it chained. The gate lacked about two feet of being wide enough so I had to use chain to hold it closed. I was still wrapped up in thought when I heard a shrill whistle. I looked toward the cabin and saw Shelly over by the back wall, waving for me to come. I jumped on the ATV, wondering what was wrong. I headed to where she was sitting on the tractor, watching something on the ground. As I got close, she backed the tractor away from the wall about fifty feet. "I found a cave under that rubble there! When I scooped up a bucketful of fill, it opened up and there are snakes everywhere. Unless what Dad said was wrong, those are Mojaves and there are thousands of them. Should I fill it back in and get what I need somewhere further away?" "Well, there's supposed to be an old quartz mine in this area so I figure that's what you uncovered. I have no idea how deep it goes so see if you can't fill it back in for now. I will have to burn them out if I ever want to get in the cave to see how deep it is. Right now though let's don't worry about it. Besides, if I get short on meat there is plenty right here I can kill." "Boy you got that right; I love fried rattlesnake. My brother and I shoot them whenever we see one, and Mom cooks it up and boy is it delicious. Ok, I will fill it in again but I will mark the wall above the entrance with the bucket so we know where it's at if we need to find it again. You will probably have to watch walking around this area 'cause they will be stirred up and probably be all over the place here, even after I fill it back in. In a couple of days, me and Mikey will come over and shoot any we find and share them with you." "Sounds like a good deal to me, and I will even furnish the ammo to do it. Before you leave, remind me to give you some more 22s for your rifles. I was gonna give some more to your dad, but he took off before I could mention it. When you get through in the back, I have one more little chore before you take the tractor back to your house." "Well, I think two more full buckets will finish back there. I have it built up about two foot above the tanks and now they are protected on three sides. I didn't put any rock against the cabin as I figured it would be too much pressure. Dad said that he couldn't find any 22s anywhere. We were both glad to get them and we both will use them for varmints and not waste them. Dad explained what was happening, but I don't know if I could shoot someone or not." "Well, Shelly, I hope you never have to, but if it will save you or someone close to you, just remember your family's safety comes first regardless. Shelly, if the dead are doing what your dad said, then they aren't people, they are just like those snakes. You have to kill them to protect yourself only you just can't eat them. They are no longer human, just empty shells. Shelly, remember when society breaks down, there are gonna be others who will try to take what you have, just because they are too lazy to try to help each other survive. They figure that numbers makes them invincible and that they are stronger because there are more of them. These types of people don't care about the rules and are nothing more than animals. If they could capture someone as pretty as you and your mother are, I shudder to think of what could happen. No, Shelly, if it comes down to it, shoot to kill because you will be saving yourself as well as your family. If they are willing to kill women and children to take what they have, then they deserve to die as fast as you can put them down. Remember that, because it may save your life. Don't ever hesitate if you point your rifle at someone in that situation Shelly. No one should kill just to kill, but killing to protect themselves and the ones they love ... I see no wrong in doing it in that situation." I could clearly see she was deep in thought about what I had told her, but her reply to me just made me realize just how mature these ranch kids were. "Thank you. That helped answer a couple of questions I couldn't ask Dad. I don't want to shoot anyone, but I will if it will save my family. Mikey and I are both crack shots and we always shoot snakes in the head." With that statement, she went forward with the bucket full and proceeded to fill in the hole she had uncovered. I sat and watched her for a couple of minutes before heading back to the cabin. I had remembered something from my past about using snakes to kill enemies. Either way, it would be something to remember if I needed extra help. I even remembered how to do it and knew I had plenty of string in the cabin. I went in and dug out the 22s for her, putting them in a box I had saved from another delivery of something I had ordered online. Since they were using rifles, I gave them 40gr lead points. My pistol didn't shoot them that well because the lead from the bullets built up in the barrel and it was hell to clean. I used them in my rifle and had fired hundreds of them through it without a buildup problem. I would wait 'till she was done in the back and show her how I wanted to do the driveway coming in. When we did the driveway, she finally realized what I was setting up and giggled the whole time she worked on it. We finally finished, and I gave her the shells and a large glass of iced tea, and was promptly reminded that I needed to stock some Coke when she came over to visit. I got a big grin over the shells and when I gave her one of the keys to the gate she kissed me on the cheek, thanking me for trusting her. I reminded her that my place was to be considered a safe haven for any of her family or friends in case of trouble. I followed her out and almost didn't make it up the driveway with the modifications we had done to it. Good thing my Crown Vic had high clearance and rough tread on the tires. As it was, the front end scraped a little as I went over the hump and into the dugout part. Shelly was watching and grinning her head off when I scraped. I stuck my tongue out at her which had her laughing at me. I finally got through, but I had to do it real slow. If anyone hit this at speed coming down, they might as well junk their vehicle 'cause the front end would be torn out. I would have to warn BK about it as he ignored the road close ahead; always looking way ahead when we traveled and he drove. If it wasn't a half mile ahead of him he just ignored it. I got the gate locked up and followed Shelly down to where we separated, going different ways. I watched her make it home through my side mirror and headed for the truck stop to pick up some fuel and fill the four 5 gallon jugs I had. If the station had any for sale, I would buy a couple more. ------- Chapter 4 When I pulled up to the pumps there were two cars and one truck in the parking lot. I noticed several vehicles parked to one side of the barrier that shut off the exits from the freeway and the frontage road. They had moved in concrete barriers like the long ones used when they did the freeway construction last year, and they extended clear across the road to the train tracks. Damn, I thought, they were gonna make sure no one could get past the barrier. I was smiling as I slid my credit card into the slot and started the pump. I set it for slow and went inside to see if they had any extra cans. When I walked in, I was greeted by the assistant manager. I noticed that the shelves were stocked full and there were hundreds of those green delivery tubs stacked high in the back where the restrooms were. "Hey Thom, in to get gas?" "Yeah, JB, and some other things I was reminded I needed. You got any extra gas cans?" "Yeah, for some reason we got double shipped on stock this time, just before the highway shut down. We also got full tanks of diesel and gas for a change so we are pretty well set for awhile. We even finally got the parts in to repair the backup generator. I think there are about eight or ten five gallon gas cans and a whole bunch of one gallon ones in the back against the wall." "Any limit on how many we can buy?" "Not that I was told, but then again since I am the only manager on duty 'till this is over, I guess it's whatever you can afford." "Thanks JB, I need two or three to fill, then I will be back in to get some more stuff." "Ok, just let me know how many you are taking." I went back and grabbed three of the five gallon ones and showed them to JB as I went out the door. By the time I filed my tank and the seven cans it was well over a hundred dollars. I pulled my car up the front away from the pumps and went back in. I grabbed four twelve-packs of Coke since they were on sale at two for eight dollars, and then walked through the store, getting some other things for the fridge and some frozen items. I didn't eat many snacks, but still grabbed several bags of Doritos and another large can of coffee. By the time I checked out I had another fifty some dollars blown. Carrying it out to the car, I figured I still had about four hundred or so left in the bank so I decided to stop at the other small store in town to see what else I could stock up on. I got everything in the back seat and headed out after saying bye to JB. I noticed the open sign on the other store was on so I stopped and went in. The owner was there reading a paper so I bought several items to store in case I ran out. When I went by the school, I noticed ten or fifteen trucks and cars parked by the gym so I stopped and went in. I was greeted by several people I knew and noticed a bulletin board set up in the middle of the floor so I walked over to it. There was a long list of commodities that was available if needed, and as I read through the list, I noticed several I knew I didn't have many of. I did notice that every resident was being offered six full cases of MREs. Now unlike some of my friends, I liked some of them and these were the large portion ones. I walked up the lady sitting at the desk and told her what I needed. She wrote it down, asking me to sign her sheet proving I had picked the order up. I explained about not being able to lift a lot so she sent one of the students with the list to get it all for me. I was surprised when she asked for a picture ID but I showed it to her. "They are restricting the bulk foods to residents only at this time, to make sure everyone have enough on hand so they won't starve till this is over and we get another shipment of supplies. They are supposed to deliver another large order of MREs tomorrow from the Army base by helicopter. You will be able to pick up six more cases when they do and if it were me, Sir, I would get them as they said this would be the last shipment for awhile." I just thanked her for the information, thinking she was being awful cheerful, especially if it was as bad as Barry had said it was. The student came back with a flat cart loaded with the stuff I asked for, and went over the list with me, checking off the items to show that he had them all. Hell, he even loaded them in the car for me and by the time he did, it was really loaded down. I wondered if I would be able to get back into the cabin with the new improvements on my driveway. Well, I thought, I will soon find out. When we got through loading the car, I called BK and advised him about the food and stuff. I told him he needed to load up all his guns, ammo, and food and come out to the cabin for awhile as things were going to get worse than what I had discussed with him. He said he would borrow the neighbor's trailer and get everything loaded up and be out tomorrow afternoon. He said that Willcox was totally shut down and his sister was worried about what was going on. I told him I would bring him up to date tomorrow and that he was to go real slow down my drive, describing the improvements to him. He got a big laugh out of it. I made it back in ok, but I noticed that the front end scraped a little harder as I went into the ditch in front of the pile of raised stone. I finally got in and pulled up to the spring with the lights on so I could see to put the gas cans into the enclosure next to the wall by the spring. I was making sure I didn't upset any snakes in case they were up here next to the wall. I put the cover back on and pulled in front of the cabin. I went in, turning on the outside spots so I could see to unload the car. I finally got everything inside, but with all the lifting my back was killing me. I did remember to put a twelve pack of Coke in the small refrigerator for Shelly. I turned the outside lights off, hit the shower, then the bed in that order. I was out before my head settled on the pillow. When I woke up, I could see it was light out but I had no idea what time it was. When I turned the coffee pot on I glanced at the small alarm on the counter and realized it was only five am. What the! I hadn't gotten up this early since I was in the service. The weird part was I was totally awake and my back wasn't hurting me like it normally does after lifting like the night before. I got washed up and dressed, realizing I was going to have to try to do some laundry, but since BK was coming out here, I didn't have anywhere to do it now. I hadn't thought about it when I moved out here because I had plenty of clothes and only did laundry once a month, and I hated every minute of it. Damn, I wondered if I could slip over there and do two or three loads before it all hit the fan around here. I expected Barry to stop by and I was hoping he would to bring some more news about this mysterious flu and what was happening on the outside. Not being able to get radio or the internet here I wasn't able to check the news like I normally would. I went outside with a cup of coffee, noticing it was already getting hot in the mornings. I knew the summer heat wasn't far off. I sat down; sipping my coffee and looking out at the improvements Shelly had made and had to smile to myself. If someone came down the drive, the big stones we had moved into place funneled them directly past the cabin where the back wall would stop their progress. If worse came to worse we could open up the old mine again and let them run in there for shelter. With that picture in mind, I was chuckling to myself without realizing I was hearing a heavy truck motor in the background. When I realized what it was and that it was coming up my drive from the main road, I grabbed my rifle and set it beside the chair. The noise kept getting louder until I saw a large truck stop at my gate. I grabbed the binoculars and focused them on the gate, three men got out and were inspecting the gate and the posts set in the ground. Then I saw who it was and smiled to myself. Although I didn't know why he was here nor what he had in mind, I knew Zeke didn't present any danger to me. The other two looked like the guys who helped me do the repairs and hauled the firewood in. When I pulled up to the gate on the ATV, Zeke was measuring the width of the gate. "Hey Zeke, guys, what's up?" "We just delivered and set up a generator over at Barry's cabin, and I remembered that old gate you bought from me wasn't in very good shape. Since I had all those old sections of well casing, I figured I would stop by and reinforce it so it wouldn't fall apart. Since I was already out here, it won't cost you nothing. Now get that damned log chain off there before I have to get the torch out." I was a little taken aback at his tone of voice until he looked up and I saw him grinning at me. Then I realized his attitude was about like all the other old ranchers who lived in the area. They always talked in a gruff manner but took the sting out of it by a big grin. While I was unlocking the lock I noticed he was looking at the improvements Shelly and I had done and was smiling. "I like the new landscaping. You do know the old quartz mine is right back against that wall where your funnel ends don't you?" "Yeah, Shelly uncovered it and hit a snake breeding cave. There were thousands of Mojaves in the cave so I had her cover it back up. How much do you know about it, Zeke?" "Let me get this started and I will tell you all I know about it. If you got any coffee I could sure use a cup. I only had four to start my morning today and I am feelin' a little sluggish. Dale and Ralph here were hung over when I got them up this morning so I figure they could use a couple of cups too. Tell you what, let me do this real quick and we will come down and join you when I turn the truck around. That way I can rest my old bones while you serve the coffee." "Ok, Zeke, it will be waiting on you and the guys when you're done. That's the least I can do since you're not chargin' me for the repairs on the gate." I headed back down the drive, absently noting that even the ATV had to go slow to get over the hump in the drive. I parked the ATV and moved my car around back so there would be room to turn the truck around. I put the rifle back inside, leaning it against the wall. I set out three cups for coffee and poured me another one, then went outside and sat back down. I watched the activity at the gate while I sipped my coffee and wondered how Zeke knew so much about the old mine. Of course Zeke has been around here for a lot of years, so he probably knows everyone in this part of the county. ------- Chapter 5 I was watching the welding sparks at the gate, trying to think of anything else I could do to make my home safer if it really hit the fan. I had walked all the way around the outside of the walls about a month ago and other than where they had made my driveway, the rear of the walls were almost straight up on the outside of this valley. I remembered where I had found a little spring up next to the canyon wall. It was just a little trickle, barely wetting a small spot on the ground. Out of sheer curiosity I took the pick and shovel up to it and started digging a half moon circle down about fifteen feet from it. I had gotten down through the sand and rock till I had hit hard bedrock and couldn't go any further. I cleaned it completely out all the way to the wall before I started using the pick to dig out where the water was trickling from. I quit the first day after my back started hurting so bad I couldn't swing the pick anymore. So I rested and went back at it the second day going a lot slower and swinging it while on my knees. I had gotten almost a foot into the base of the cliff when a large flat rock which I couldn't break stopped me. By this time I was hurting so bad I could hardly swing the pick so I stuck my head into the small area and had a close look at the rock. I could see the dampness on it and wondered if it could be pried out by the wrecking bar, but I had to wait till one of the guys came back bringing more firewood as I knew my back couldn't take anymore. Two days later when the guys showed up with a large load of wood, I asked them to give me a hand. It took them another hour of digging to get the rock out in the open far enough that we could pry on it to try to move it. It slid sideways as they pried and they were able to slide it out to show a small hole in the base of the wall. Water started running out before they could get the rock cleared away from the hole. We stuck the wrecking bar in the hole and it went all the way in without hitting anything. Must be a hollow spot in the cliff base, we thought. Anyway, the water was coming out in a steady stream, rapidly filling the hole I had dug. We spent the rest of the day stacking and mortaring flat stones to wall it in. We placed a piece of one inch pipe at the top to let the overflow run out on the ground. By the time we got the wall around it built, we had to open up the front part of it again because the mortar was washing out before it could dry. I told them I would finish it and to keep the firewood coming as long as they could. Two days later I walked back to the spring. The ground for at least two hundred feet was a mud hole. The mortar had set up, but I could tell I would have to mix some more to coat the inside of the enclosure. I was able to finish that myself without ending up in the bed with my back killing me. It took another two days for it to set up because I had mixed some water sealant in the mortar and although it had set up, it seemed to be almost rubbery when it did. I stood there, trying to figure out some way to block the end up where it was flowing out, when I remembered that in the old days they used to put sluice gates in to control the water releasing for crops. I was looking at the open front when I remembered I had some short pieces of angle iron left over from when I built the bunks in the small bedroom. I pictured it in my mind and knew how I could do it. I chipped the rock on either side of the opening as straight as I could get it and drove the angle iron into the ground as far as I could get it. I then put the second piece on either side boxing the pieces together to make a slide I could slide a gate down in from the top. I sealed the spaces between the iron and sides with clear sealant. I measured the width and made the gate out of three quarter inch plywood scraps and coated it with five coatings of water sealant. I dug a groove at the bottom of the hole and slid the gate into the tracks and viola; I had a seal to stop the water. At the top of the gate I drilled a hole and put in an eight inch long piece of one inch PVC for the overflow. Of course ole dummy me, I had to drain it all again in order to pipe the water into the cabin. But, it was easier to do that than what I thought it would be. I now had plenty of water as well as almost an acre of thick grass that had grown downhill from the overflow pipe. It was the only green spot in the whole valley. I had plumbed my gray water from the sinks and shower to run out on the ground, but other than a big wet spot, I never did get any grass to grow there. I knew the septic for the toilet ran into a deep hole they had drilled for water, but after going down over eight hundred feet, it turned out to be a dry hole. They had drilled deeper at another spot but again they never found water, so the septic drained into these two holes. I didn't figure I would ever fill them up, but they were both marked so I could have them pumped out if that ever happened. I had taken a sample of the spring water to the local health department and paid the small fee to have it tested. I was told that there were a few trace minerals and it was more than safe for human consumption. Then when they wanted me to pinpoint the water source for the records I told them it was at a windmill site and had been shut down for several years and the rancher had reopened the well 'cause the other one he was using had dried up. The question wasn't brought up again, so only a few people knew about the water source I had. I did have to measure and make a small plug to slow down the feed from the rock, but that just worked better for me as so much wasn't being wasted like it had been. The walled in tank stayed full, even with me using it steadily, and it was almost ice cold. When I decided to put a garden in, I could pipe from the overflow to irrigate. I heard the welder shut down and looked up to see Zeke winding up the cables, so I went in, poured the last cup in the pot, and started another one. I had just set up the card table and was bringing out the pot and cups when Zeke pulled up in front and shut down the truck. I had the sugar and creamer out, but they all poured coffee in their cups without using it, and then sat down in the chairs in front. "Well, it's gonna take a semi or something larger to break that gate down, Thom. It's braced and strengthened three ways from Sunday. I welded a bigger chain to the pole also and I suggest you go to the truck stop and buy one of those locks that can't be cut with bolt cutters. The one you have is a good one, but cutters would get through it. Thom, I gotta admit you got a nice little setup here. Ira never did much with that old cabin, but the boys here tell me you have completely redone it. If things get bad, you should be pretty damned safe where you're at and the way you got everything set up. Setting up the drive and rocks the way you have won't let anyone not welcome go anywhere you don't want them to, that's fer sure. I raised the ends of the gate up by four feet and welded eyelets on the inside of the casing. Next time you're out by my place I have a partial roll of barbed wire you can string on the top to keep anyone from climbing over. I also have ten or fifteen old cow bells I would hook up as a warning signal if someone tries." "Well, Barry's girl is a little engineer with that shovel and backhoe. She runs it like someone who went to school to do it. Zeke, what can you tell me about that mine and how come it was sealed off? Oh, and before I forget, thanks for fixing the gate. I was planning on doing something with it when I got more time to do it. I don't know what's going to happen, but from what I have heard so far, it's gonna get real bad. The people here in town will be fine, I think, but everyone I have spoken to seems to be forgetting how close we are to Mexico. If this flu kills too many, we will have open borders again and that just plain scares the hell out of me." "Thom, I don't know if anyone told you, but I have an excellent short wave radio and from what I have been told, this isn't a flu as everyone here is calling it. They had a large explosion at some lab in Maryland and that's where it supposedly originated from. The CDC has no idea what it is and it has spread all around the world. The stories I am hearing from other operators is that they get a high fever, then within forty eight hours they die. There have been a few cases that the person contracting it lives but the government grabs them up as soon as they find out. Now one of the ham operators in New York tole me that when they die, after about twenty four hours the body starts having violent spasms and comes back to life and getting up and walking away. He said that when one of the bodies smells someone alive, they attack them immediately and try to eat them. The ones that are bitten or eaten don't live or wake up again. From what he said there are thousands of them in the bigger cities, and the only way to kill them is to behead them or do enough damage to the skull and brain that they die. The National Guard is shooting them in the heads with shotguns then burning what's left. Now an operator in Atlanta told me that if they are shot in the head they die also. He said they been shooting them with pistols and they don't get back up again. From what I have gathered from listening all over the world, head shots kill them. They outnumber the living so much that most countries are just holing up and hoping they just die off. The so called flu is still spreading and no one knows how long it will last before it runs its course and dies off. Now, small communities like ours haven't come under attack, but if we were closer to a big city, then all bets would be off. Me and the boys here are gonna hole up at my place for now so if you need something, just come on out. I won't be going out for anything other than food after this weekend. Oh, and stay away from strangers, they might be carrying the bug. I told Barry all of this and he promised to pass it on to everyone. Also, if you know anyone in Benson, get on the internet and tell them to stay inside as much as possible. They have had forty cases at the truck stop and it's spreading, from what I was told last night. Hopefully since the interstate is closed now it won't spread this way, but if you see a stranger cutting cross country, I suggest you shoot him before he gets close to you. I damn sure will 'cause it's hard to tell where he came from and if he is carrying it. Don't take any chances." "Doesn't that seem a little harsh, Zeke, to just shoot someone because they are walking across country? Besides, we wouldn't know if they had this bug or not and what if it's women and children?" "Thom, don't be a dumbass. Why do you think they restricted travel between cities and on the interstates? Because they had to have some way to keep it from spreading. If someone is willing to walk across that desert and alkali flat then they are escaping from something. All our people are here and we don't need strangers coming in to drain the resources and spread this virus to us. That's why we have the exits closed and the people at the scales have the interstate from New Mexico shut down with orders to shoot anyone who tries to cross into here from there. Border patrol officers are out in full force with orders to shoot on sight those coming in from New Mexico and any illegals from Mexico. Hell, even the army is patrolling the borders. They have snipers all over the place with orders to shoot to kill any illegal that crosses the border. They should have done it years ago, not wait till some damned disease makes them do it. It may sound harsh and cold blooded, but we cannot afford to let that damned bug get in here and kill all of us off. We are lucky we are so far from any other town other than Bowie." "I can see your point, Zeke, but in Nam, I saw enough women and kids killed. I never expected to one day be called upon to do it myself. I don't like this, but I gave my word to Barry and a few friends that I would help protect this town. I will, but I don't have to like it. I hope like hell it doesn't come to that, but I will do my part. Now, what can you tell me about this quartz mine?" ------- Chapter 6 "Boy, you sure want to know about that mine, don't you? Tell you what, you refill my coffee and I will give you the whole story. There really isn't much to tell other than we made a lot of money out of it 'till the quartz market dried up back east. See, Ira found it by accident when he was staying here one winter. Oh, he is the one who built this cabin, 'bout thirty five years or so ago if I member correct. It used to be just one small room, but we spent weeks hauling in logs so we both would have a place to stay since we were both ole broke cowboys. We found the valley by accident and since his family owned everything around it he asked for it. It used to be all green and had a small pond right out there in the middle. When the earthquake hit back 'bout thirty years ago, it caused the little stream to dry up. Ira was the one who blew the wall at its lowest point to get a wagon in here to load the quartz into. Well now, let's see. When Ira found the hole in the wall he shined a lantern in it after opening it up a little. When he did this big ole horny toad jumped right in his face. Scared the hell out of him it did." The guys were rolling cigarettes 'till Zeke quit laughing and got back to the story. I had to admit his way of telling it was or would have been a lot better than my story telling. "Where was I, oh yeah, the horny toad. Well, when Ira couldn't see much further than fifteen or so feet he called me to come see what he had found. Hell, we thought we had found the back way into some old Spanish mine. There used to be a lot of them around here. He decided to open it up so we could go in and check it out. Well Ira had never used dynamite before. He used a little too much and opened up a bigger hole than what we needed to get in. Hell, he almost blew a hole through the whole cliff. If it hadn't been hollow inside you would have another road in here. We finally got inside with lanterns and saw all the quartz in the walls and thought we had us a sure enough gold mine. We went a little crazy for awhile using the picks to break big chunks out. We took it outside to break it up to get the gold out when we finally realized there weren't any gold in any of it. From what we hadn't broken in pieces, it just looked to be pure pink colored quartz. Hell we threw tons of it outta there but never did find any gold. Then one night, Ira happened to see some light coming through a hole in the back wall of the cavern. He went all Ira on me again and blew the hell out of it. It took two days for the dust to settle this time. Hell, I'm hungry, let's all go to the truck stop and have some breakfast burritos. Once I get my stomach filled and pay the boys off I'll finish my story and give you the layout of the cave and tell you what else you will find in there, if you ever decide to go in. If it were me I would throw some gas in there and get rid of those snakes. Those things are aggressive as hell when you disturb a breeding den. Say a half hour or so we will meet and eat. Thom's buyin'!" Before I could say anything, he had the truck going and gave me a big grin as he headed up the drive. I hadn't planned on going out this early, but he knew I wanted to know about the cave so I didn't have much choice. I cleaned up the coffee pot and cups, washing them and leaving them in the dish drainer as I grabbed my pistol, putting it on my belt and closed up the cabin. If BK came early he had keys to everything, so I headed out. I didn't scrape this time but I still had to ease through the dip before I pulled through the gate. When I went to close the gate I saw immediately it wasn't a gate anymore; it was now a barrier and like Zeke said, it would be hell to get through. The chain was welded to the post and it was three times larger than what was on there before. Hell, when I first picked up the end to loop it around the pipe on the gate, it felt heavy enough to be anchor chain from a ship. The links were huge! The lock was big, but it barely was long enough to snap through the chain links. When I walked away, I turned to look back at it before I got in the car and the new sign welded to the gate had me chuckling. It said; THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY AND IF YOU GO BEYOND THIS POINT EXPECT TO BE SHOT! I just knew BK was gonna laugh his ass off when he saw it the first time. I got to the end of my drive and saw Shelly and Mikey coming up the road on their ATVs so I waited till they got to me. "We were just coming up to your place to shoot some snakes. Mom and Dad are gone all day and Mikey and me are bored. We got all our chores done so we decided to come up here." "I know your dad is on the blockade, but where is your mom?" "She's at the school helping out today. The women all volunteered to cook supper tonight so we are stuck here all day. We are supposed to ride in later with Dad to eat." "Well, I am headed in to the truck stop to have some breakfast. Why don't you guys go with me and we will stop at the school and tell your mom where you're at? I would prefer to be there if you are shooting snakes in case something happens." "Can you follow us back to our place so we can put our rifles away?" "Sure, go ahead and I will pick you up out front." I watched as she told Mikey what was happening. He got a big grin and they took off on those ATVs faster than I would ever think about running them. When I stopped in their drive, they were already coming back out of the house and piled into my car. Shelly got in the front and Mikey in the back, and I made them buckle up. We went by the blockade but I didn't see Barry's SUV, so I went directly to the school. Sure enough, it was parked in front, so I went in with the kids. He was sitting at a table doing paperwork so I followed the kids over. I stood back as Shelly told him what was going on and he waved me over. When I sat down the kids ran back to the kitchen, I guess, to tell their mom what was happening. "Thom, we got some big problems around us. I got word last night that Mexico is in a full scale epidemic. The army has increased patrols on the border with orders to shoot to kill anyone crossing illegally. This bug has reached Willcox already, and no one knows how unless one of the truckers stranded there was a carrier. The blockade on ten turned back a large caravan of RVs last night, but they only went back to Steins and are all parked there. This thing is spreading faster than the Sheriff thought it would. He is coming in today with the load of MREs the Army is bringing. I am going to have him swear you in as a Special Deputy. He is bringing all the paperwork with him along with an ID and a badge. I took a survey of weapons and for the most part they are the common ranch rifles. The Sheriff is getting some more ammo from the Army since they have plenty to spare. They got a big shipment in a month ago for summer training, so they have enough to give some to the different counties. Zeke has a short wave and has been keeping me updated on what is going on so far around the country. We are setting up portable spotlights at both blockades so no one can slip by at night. From what Zeke and the Sheriff have told me it is really getting bad all around our area. I have a feeling if it gets any worse we are gonna be in a shoot out with people who are trying to escape the infected areas. Bowie is still clear so far and they are making sure no strangers come in. I have been put in charge here, but I just don't know what to expect." "I have two suggestions for you. This school should be a fall back area for this end of town. It has that thick mesh over all the windows and the doors are all steel. Use the town emergency sirens to have the people move in here and make sure they know to bring all their food and guns and ammo. That covers this end of town. The truck stop should be the other fallback position because they have control of all our fuel and that is gonna be worth its weight in gold if this lasts very long. They need to get all those big windows covered though. They also, like the school, have a backup generator and outside lights so it would be hard to sneak up on the area outside. You need to get the word out to everyone as soon as you can. If they should overrun the barricades, you need somewhere safe that you can protect. I know for a fact the school not only has city water, but they also have several drilled wells that they still use for irrigation and the water is drinkable. You have shower facilities and the bigger areas could be used for storage as well as sleeping areas. Ole Harp has a hundred sheets of that wire mesh in his shop that we could weld over the windows at the truck stop. Just put plywood over the windows with firing ports cut in them then weld the mesh to the window frames. You need to get this underway as soon as possible. That bunch of RVs will be running short on water and food soon and they will become desperate. Face it, Barry, things are gonna get scarce quick with the interstate shut down, and there are gonna be scavengers that will do anything for food, water, and fuel. If it gets bad enough, they won't hesitate to capture women too, if you know what I am saying. All these ranches keep a big stock of supplies on hand because they are so far out, and with no close neighbors they will be the first ones hit by scavengers. If the illegals come across in force, then you're gonna have killings all along the border areas before they start moving deeper into the US. Barry, you're a likeable guy, but you are gonna have to get tough and quit being so nice. Give orders and make sure they are carried out or we ain't gonna make it here very long. This is gonna turn into the strongest survive, and I don't want to see this town fall because we didn't take time to get things set up to protect ourselves. Don't wait, Barry, get busy and get things underway. You're the head honcho now and with martial law in effect, you have the last word as the law enforcement here. You need to have any food, ammo, and people set to move to a central location and I would make it this school. I will back you all I can, but I plan on holing up at my place as much as possible. Find four or five of the ranchers you can trust and let them help you out. The people here are mostly all from this area and you know who they respect and will listen to. Barry, I am not physically able to do too much anymore, so don't depend on me too much. BK will be staying with me so if I am attacked he can and will shoot anyone who tries to move in on us. Hell, he can shoot a fly off a cow's ass at two hundred yards. Me, I am a pistol man. I used to be excellent shot with a 16 or an AK, but that had been over thirty years ago. I will try to back you up but you know I don't get cell out where I am at, so I have no way you can reach me." "Well, I have a cure for that too. The Sheriff is bringing in eight of our walkie-talkies with replacement batteries and chargers. There is a repeater tower not three miles from you and you should be able to communicate with me and the department without a problem. I will discuss what you said with the Sheriff, but I got to admit it's the best idea I have heard so far. I will talk to the ranchers tonight and have some of the more remote ones moved into the school with all their supplies as soon as they can. My wife is gonna be here on a regular basis and I have no problem with Mikey and Shelly being at your place when we are not home. At least with you, I know they will be safe. This so called virus is all around us now except for a few other places that are small and cut off like we are. I had the Sheriff check you out, Thom, and with your experience I will be depending on you a lot in the upcoming weeks as will the people here. The ranchers that have talked to you at the truck stop at your so called bull sessions all seem to like you, even if you haven't lived around here that long. Hell, that's saying a lot since they don't take to strangers that much." "Well I need to go meet Zeke and the guys, so I will stop back by when I hear the chopper come in. I invited Shelly and Mikey if they want to go with me. If not, I will pick them up when I come back." "The Sheriff is planning on staying the night, and we are having a town meeting here with supper being served so plan on coming, will you? "Ok, I will. Let me round up the kids and get to the truck stop since Zeke says I am buying." He was still laughing as I headed towards where the kids disappeared. They were all sitting around a table in the back with other kids. I asked them if they were staying or going with me. They both chose to stay and visit with their friends, so I headed for the truck stop. I told them I would see them later. ------- Chapter 7 When I pulled into the truck stop, there were several pickups sitting in front and they were all locals. I had seen most of them before. When I looked over at the blockade, they were setting up the kind of lights they used on construction sites. They had an ADOT truck with the back loaded down. From what I could see, there were at least ten people busy unloading and setting up. I went inside and JB was working again. I just nodded at him since he was checking out someone at the register. I went to the restaurant side and was immediately greeted by several of the ranchers who were sitting around drinking coffee. Zeke and the guys were in line to get coffee so I joined them. He told the girl behind the counter that I was getting all their orders so she should be collecting from me. She looked at me and I just shrugged at which she just smiled. I ordered a large coffee and a breakfast burrito, and paid the bill. I joined Zeke and the guys at a table in the corner and noticed that both the guys were already eating. Zeke was sipping coffee and looking at me as he ate. Whatever he was thinking, he never voiced it so I relaxed and ate my burrito. When we were all finished, the guys wandered off talking to the other people around us. Zeke and I got refills for our coffee and went outside to the table there so we could smoke after our meal. "Thom, the cave on your place is gonna be a big surprise when you finally decide to explore it. Ira's family kinda took it over and made a bomb shelter out of it. It goes into those walls a long ways and there is a large freshwater lake at the end of the tunnel. It was an old mine and when Ira went crazy with the dynamite, he caved in the entrance on the backside. It used to lead out to the alkali flats towards Steins. That's where the light he saw came from. The rest of it has been blasted or picked out of solid rock. There is a huge cavern by the lake and it was set up with everything needed to survive in the event of a catastrophe. His family used to believe all the hype about nuclear war and all that. Anyway, just before the cavern entrance, they had it closed off with the huge double doors made out of steel that was supposed to withstand a bomb. The wiring should still be there to set up a generator to run lights and everything else to survive. I went in there with Ira 'bout five years ago before the slide that covered the entrance. It all looked like it was ready for occupancy. There is a natural chimney that sucks out smoke and odors; they mounted a fan to it to exhaust the cavern. There are also lights, bunks, storage shelves. I think if I remember correctly, there are still tons of civil defense rations, blankets, pillows and everything you would ever want to survive. That stuff never spoils the way it was packed back then. Just me and Ira know about it and since he went back east before this happened, I guess you and I are the only ones that know now. Thom, if it was me, I would clear those snakes out and use it in case this gets as bad as I think it's gonna get. I listened to the radio last night and people are dying off by the thousands. This thing is spreading and the death rate is rising from this so called virus. There are millions of these re-animations wandering around attacking anything that's still alive. The weird thing is that they only attack humans and don't seem to bother the animals. People are either running from the bigger cities or holing up trying to survive the attacks from these things. Mexico has already had over a million people die and come back to life. It is now worldwide and still going strong. We have been lucky here, but it's only a matter of time before some group that's running will try to take what we have. Then it's gonna get down and dirty, and you and a few of us old timers are gonna be the only ones who have the guts to do what's needed. Hell, believe it or not half the people in this little burg don't even own a gun. Most of the ones we old timers have are over twenty years old. Well, thanks for breakfast. I need to round up the guys and get back to my place. I heard we are having a town meeting tonight with a free meal. Now that I ain't gonna miss. I will talk to you again and keep you up to date." As was his habit, he was up and back inside before I could ask any questions. His news was disturbing 'cause if it was happening like he said, we were sure to get attacked and probably sooner than we would be ready for. If what Zeke said about the guns was right, we were worse off than Barry thought we were. The only rifle I owned was a Ruger 22, but it wouldn't be much help in a fire fight. The 9mm I was wearing would be adequate but we needed some heavier weapons. This was another thing I needed to discuss with Barry and the Sheriff at this meeting tonight. We needed to know how many weapons and what caliber were owned by the residents in town. Jesus, I thought, this just keeps getting better and better. If this flu or bug hit the Army base, all their stuff would be unprotected and open for anyone who had the guts to raid it. We also had a big need for a medic and hopefully we could talk the Army into sending one with medicine to take care of the people here. I had just stood up when my cell rang and startled the hell out of me. It was Byron, who said he was on his way to my place and wanted to know if I was there. If I wasn't, he wanted to know where to store all the food and stuff he was bringing. I laid it out for him as best as I could then headed inside to buy another gas can, if there were any left. I also needed to stop at the other store and buy a dozen canning jars and lids and a large box of soap powder. If the cave was like Zeke said, then I knew for my sake I needed to get the snakes cleared and get the inside set up in case it was needed for an emergency shelter. Anyone inside would be safe and the way the cave faced the drive we could stand off an army. Damn, I thought, all this time I had it in my mind to just sit back in my little shack and relax with the silence. Oh well, as usual I was sucking hind tit when it came to planning my life out. Damn, what a way to start the day I thought as I walked inside. ------- Chapter 8 When I got inside, I went immediately to the back, but there was one of my neighbors and she had the last gas can in her hand as she passed me. Well, I thought, there should be a couple of the gallon ones in the shed at BK's if I remembered right. One of them was mine, as well as a few other things I should go ahead and pick up while I was there. I had my laptop in the trunk and while I was there, if the internet was still up, I would send some e-mails out to a few friends. I especially wanted to send one to my adopted family and fill them in on everything Zeke had told me. I also had to send one out to my daughter in Ohio and fill her in the best I could, but since I had no way of getting to her I just hoped she and my granddaughter were ok. I got there in time to see Byron taking the trailer back to the neighbors as I loaded my things and the gas can from the shed into my trunk. I got my laptop out and sat down in the seat. Yep, the internet was still working so I got busy typing out the message to Ben. I was still typing when Byron pulled up next to me. I put the laptop down and walked over to his car. "Hey BK, you get everything hauled ok?" "Yeah, all except my clothes and ammo which I will load in my car. I took the small freezer and that little icemaker to your place too. I put the freezer in the back corner and plugged it back in. Thom, do you know anything more about this? I tried calling my sister this morning but all I got was her voice mail." I filled him in on everything Zeke and Barry had told me, and he thanked me and went inside with a worried look on his face. I went back to the car and finished the long email to Ben and then another one to my daughter. I was worried about Ben and his family as they were in another country and a long ways from me. I knew he was resourceful as hell and if it came to cracking heads, he would find a way to get to somewhere safe with his family. I just hoped he would steal a plane and fly back here with all of them. I hadn't heard from my daughter in several days and wondered if she was ok. From everything Zeke had told me, the east side of the country's population centers had been hit hard, and she lived in a small suburb at the edge of the capitol of the state. I had tried calling, but the lines were all tied up and I hadn't been able to get through to her. To put it bluntly, I was worried as hell, but there was nothing I could do to help her. I had just asked BK if he needed any help before I went back to the truck stop when I heard the heavy thumping of helicopters. We stood and watched as two of the big dual rotor cargo types flew over us with big nets hanging below them. I wondered what was in the nets cause from what I was told, we were only supposed to get more of the MREs for the people here. Oh well, I thought, as I waved to BK and headed out; I would find out tonight. I pulled out and went to the main drag in town. I saw that the little store was open so I headed there. When I went inside, the owner was leaned back in a chair sound asleep with his feet propped up on the counter. I headed to the back looking for the canning jars, but all he had was several cases of pint jelly jars with lids. I grabbed a case of them and a big box of the Mexican soap powder he stocked. I actually preferred this stuff over the American brands cause the flakes inside were huge and you didn't have to use as much to wash a load of clothes. Besides, it was all natural without all the chemicals added. I dropped the jars on the counter and startled the hell out of him. "Hell, you didn't have to do that. I was awake, Thom." "Well, I never heard of anyone snoring while awake. You going to the meeting tonight?" "Yeah, they sent word around they wanted everyone there who wasn't on barricade duty. Umm, can I ask you something without you saying anything to the local law?" "You know me better than that, Harp. What we talk about has always stayed with me." "Well, as you already know, I have a domestic conviction on my record and I am not allowed to own any guns. With what's going on, do you think I would get in trouble if I kept a couple for my own safety?" "I don't see that happening, Harp. With martial law being declared, we are going to need every weapon we can round up to protect this town. Hell, we don't have enough for everyone as it is. If you know where some extras are stored or hidden let me know and I will make sure they are handed out to those who don't have any. Harp, your record is the least of anyone's worries right now, we will be raided for our food and if it's some scavenger group they will kill everyone they can and burn the rest. We need all the help we can get. I have heard some rumors about some of your stashes so if you have any extras we could sure use them." "Well, I might know where there are some hidden in a cave that were supposed to go south. I don't know for sure if they are still there, but I can check if you want me to." "You do that and as soon as possible, Harp. Let me know so we can go get them." "Well, if they are still there, I will just go ahead and load them up and bring them in and let you know." "That works for me. I will make sure you get the credit with the townspeople for finding them for the town's use." "Umm, just leave my name out of it if you would. I will go out later after the meeting and see if they are still there." "Well if they are, you load and cover them and I will check back with you first thing in the morning." "Ok, just come to the house, I will park my truck in the yard out of sight if I get them. If my truck is on the street they weren't there." "Works for me, Harp, and thanks. See you tonight." I paid for my purchases and added a cold drink as I went out the door. I went to the truck stop and got a quick gallon of gas and headed back to the school. When I went inside, they had a production line going from the back double doors to the bleachers where they were stacking what looked to be MREs along the wall. The kids were doing the stacking and the adults were handing them off as they came in. I didn't bother to volunteer 'cause I knew my back wouldn't handle all the lifting and twisting. Watching them I felt a twinge in my back 'cause I had even thought about it. I grinned to myself and headed for the kitchen to see where Shelly and Mikey were, and find out if they were going with me or staying. When I got to the doorway, there were at least ten women all cooking or making something in the big kitchen. I was looking for the kids when a small petite, pretty brunette walked up to me. "You must be Thom. The kids said you would be back to get them. I am Brenda, Barry's wife. I decided to keep them here to help out with the rest of the kids. Barry said if you came in to send you to the principal's office to meet with him and the Sheriff." I must have got a funny look on my face when she said that because she laughed and told me where the office was. I grinned back at her and headed to where she said I was supposed to go. I could hear loud voices as soon as I got to the end of the hall and figured I was in the right place. I stopped and eavesdropped a little before I knocked. I was told to come in and did so seeing Barry and another man in a Sheriff's uniform sitting behind the desk. Barry introduced me and I immediately took a dislike at the Sheriff's greeting and the way he said it. By the time he addressed me next I was pissed off completely. "So you're the fella that came up with all the fancy ideas on fallback positions, huh? Well, if everyone does their jobs, we should be able to hold off anyone who tries to come in so we won't need all the fancy ideas. Now Barry asked me to swear you in as a Special, but I don't think that will be necessary 'cause we have everything under control. I will tell everyone what they are supposed to do at the meeting tonight and go back to Bisbee in the morning. The interstate is blocked off, as is the town, so we won't be having any trouble here if everyone does their jobs like I tell them to." I looked at Barry and he just kinda shrugged at me. I was turning to leave, thinking this guy is an egotistical asshole, when he addressed me again. "I haven't told you to leave yet. I have a few more things to tell you and you will listen and quit telling the people unfounded rumors. This is a virus and is under control and we won't be under martial law for long. I don't know where you are hearing this crap about other countries but you will quit passing these rumors on and scaring people." I looked at him in shock then at Barry again who looked just as shocked as I felt. I leaned on the edge of the desk he was sitting behind in a non threatening way, making sure he could see both my hands. "You, Sheriff, are an arrogant asshole. Do you actually believe all that crap you are spouting? Let me fill you in a little bit so you may realize that, with all that's happening, your so called authority means little or nothing to us that are going to be battling for our lives. Your political future is squat right now and while you are posturing for votes, your voters are dying by the hundreds. We have several short wave operators who are in touch with other cities, states, and countries and people are dying off by the millions. No, don't interrupt me, and I will say what I know and leave you with your swelled head. I will go to my home and dig in and leave you with your orders to die like everyone else who listens to them. We have thousands that are fleeing from this so called 'under control' virus that are short on food and water. Where in the hell do you think they will find supplies at? In the middle of the desert? Nope, in small towns like ours that they can overrun, killing anyone who gets in their way. You seem also to forget we have limited firearms and ammo and we have no medical help here at all. Those old ranchers out there will fight to the last man, protecting the women and children while you sit in your air conditioned office, watching your voters get killed off town by town. If that's all you have to offer these people, then I suggest you find a hole and pull it in after yourself, Sheriff. I for one will keep everyone up to date as I learn something and help them to stay alive. To me you are worthless and shouldn't even try to tell anyone what to do because you don't have the brains for it. Barry has done an excellent job with the little he has to work with but you, Sir, should be dropped in the middle of some of these reanimated dead people to be eaten by them." I wanted to say more, but figured I better get the hell outta there before I lost my temper completely and shot the stupid ass. I left before I blew and headed for Zeke's to tell him all this. He was pretty much the ringleader of the old timers here and they all respected him. Damn, I thought, is that what they call a Sheriff out here? He wasn't worried about the people, just his authority and loss of face by telling the truth about the situation. Barry caught up to me just as I started the car. "Thom, it might be a good idea if you didn't come to the meeting tonight. He plans on arresting you and taking you back to the county jail with him when he leaves tomorrow." "That won't happen, Barry, and if he tries we will probably be short one county Sheriff tonight. I am going to go have a little talk to the old timers and let them know what he said and what he plans on doing. I have a feeling he won't like their reaction to his plans tonight. Barry, you need to get started on the truck stop in the morning, and think about where you stand. He ain't gonna help us and you have a wife and kids here. I bet you won't be paid so where does your loyalty lie? With him or with the town while trying to protect your family like the rest of us will do. With martial law, there is no county or state law; it's all federal now. Tell me, do you see the Army or any federal officers here? He is Sheriff in name only, and has no jurisdiction other than carry out the orders of the army or federal troops when they come here. That's why it's called martial law, so the feds can take over. I will be here tonight, Barry, so think about what I said." ------- Chapter 9 By the time I pulled out of the school lot I was as mad as I had been in years. It seemed like I made it to Zeke's in record time and from all the trucks sitting around his place, I would have an audience for what I was going to lay on him. I must have looked mad clear through 'cause when he looked at me he just motioned me inside his shop. When I walked in, about every rancher from the area was sitting around sipping beer, and all of them as far as I could tell had firearms leaning next to them or close at hand. "Ok, Thom, what's going on? From the look on your face you're pissed about something and I bet it is with our so called Sheriff." I didn't mince words, just repeated our conversation word for word. I told Zeke that if we did as the Sheriff planned we might as well move everything we owned to a cave somewhere that we could defend. I also told him and the rest about me being arrested if I showed up tonight. I made no bones about it and told Zeke, with all the rest of them sitting there listening, I would shoot the SOB before I would let him lock me up. "Just calm down, Thom, we ain't gonna let him take anyone out of here for any reason. Don't worry about the Sheriff 'cause you're looking at most of his political money sitting right here in this room. We own him and he knows it. I kinda figured you and him wouldn't hit it off, regardless of what Barry thought. Now, we been talkin' and we have a plan for tonight, so don't worry about a thing. Just go home for now and show up about an hour late for the meeting and let us handle the rest. After tonight, I doubt he will be bothering us again. Don't worry, you and Barry are about the only two we trust to look out for us and I have a feeling this ain't gonna blow over anytime soon. We are workin' with Stan's son to get us some weapons in here that will help us also. He is a Major at the fort and says they have a lot of confiscated stuff that can be handed out to people like us so we can protect ourselves. We will know by tonight what we can get and I will pass it on to you and Barry after the meeting. Now go home and sit outside, and have some coffee and calm yourself. I will see you later at the meeting." I knew I had been dismissed but didn't feel any rancor about it since these ole men were just that way, as I had learned since I moved here. I nodded at them and got back in my car and headed for the cabin. I needed to arrange the things BK had brought in so we both knew where they were at and could easily get our hands on them. I had a couple of ideas gnawing at the back of my head but couldn't bring them forward, so I just went home. The gate was wide open and BK's SUV was sitting in front of the cabin. When I pulled around back, he was coming out with two cups of coffee. I was happy he was settling in quickly 'cause I knew with him watching my back I needn't worry about anyone pulling anything. I got out of the car and sat down in the chair, while he handed me a cup of coffee. "Well, how did it go with the Sheriff?" When I looked at him, he grinned and said; "That good, huh?" I didn't say anything, just sipped my coffee. I could tell BK had made it as it was strong enough to float a rock in. Hell, the way he made coffee, we could make two pots with what he put in for one. Oh well, I thought, that's what Rolaids were made for and grinned to myself. I set my cup down and fired up my pipe, telling him all that had happened today. As I told the story I was still mad, but nothing like I was earlier. BK, like always, just let me get it out of my system before he said anything. "Thom, I have lived around this area a lot of years and I do know who got the Sheriff in office. Hell, until Zeke got the ranchers together to back him, he didn't stand a chance of getting elected. Now these ole boys still think it's the 1800's and act like it too. The fact that Zeke has taken a liking to you says a lot. He is real wary around strangers and you've only lived here what, about three years or so? Your willingness to go down to the truck stop and talk to everyone and be friendly goes a long ways with the people who live around here. You can bet he pulled some strings with some of his cronies and had you checked out, so he probably knows your whole background, at least what's still in the files and on paper. Him and the other ranchers don't take to many people that move here but he seems to think pretty highly of you. If he does, you can bet the rest will be the same way as they all are longtime friends of each other. I don't know Zeke all that well, but I do know he is as smart as a whip and if he says he has a plan, then I wouldn't worry about anything happening tonight. Besides, I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. Now there's a whole pot of coffee for us to enjoy but while you do that, I am going to take my tape out and do some marking off of the ranges from the cabin to the different boulders you have so conveniently laid out for firing areas. The way you got this all laid out, it's gonna be great if we do get attacked. One way in, and one way out with all the boulders in a straight line on either side of the firing line. I just have to measure and paint the yardage on the rocks. We will see it but they won't." I offered to help but he waved me off, saying this was his thing and that I couldn't hit shit with a rifle anyways. I gave him the bird and he laughed as he went to his SUV and got out a can of paint and his long tape measure. I took my cup and headed in to water down the coffee a little while I still had a stomach. When I got inside, it was neat as a pin with everything in its place. Now for BK, this was unusual as he was somewhat of a slob. And although he was always messy, he knew where everything was at his place. I noticed he had added his ammo to all of mine and I had one of the thoughts that had been gnawing at me come forward. I put ammo in some of the empty 50cal cases we used and took it out back and hid it under the big tree up at the spring where it wouldn't get damp. If we did get run out, we would have ammo at a secondary place to reload with. When we had walled off the spring, I had made a rock box out of sight next to the rock wall behind the big pine. There were only two trees on the whole place and they grew on either side of the spring. The one was almost as tall as the walls it was growing against. The box looked like part of the wall so unless you knew about it, the whole thing was hidden. I was thinking 'emergency stash' as I put the last box inside and slid the rock slab over it. I would have to remember to tell BK and Shelly about it since I had put over a thousand rounds of 22s in it too. When I sat down in the cabin, I turned the circulating fans on and thought about what was happening. I knew we were running out of time to get this town ready for what I had a hunch was coming our way. There were just too many ways in besides the main roads we all used. This whole area was desert and flatlands cut by arroyos that you could hide a whole army in without anyone knowing. Hell, the illegals had been using them for years, outsmarting the Border Patrol by moving through them for miles and miles. Right now things were quiet, but I felt deep inside this was just the calm before the storm, as the old saying went. People were going to be leaving the bigger cities in droves. They would be spreading out everywhere and they would be looking for food and water as well as fuel to move around. We had some of all the above and a small population to protect it with. Hell, I had read hundreds of stories about zombies and apocalyptic events and realized just how quickly it went from law abiding to lawlessness when people were hungry and scared. Besides that, we had hundreds of miles of border with Mexico that millions of people would be fighting to get across to escape, trying to save themselves. It was almost six-thirty, so I grabbed a fresh cup of battery acid and went back out front and sat down. BK was just finishing up and I could clearly see the markings on the boulders facing the cabin. I reminded him of the time, so he headed inside to grab a quick shower before heading out to the school. He pulled out saying he would see me in an hour or so, and to not forget to lock the gate behind me. I gave him a dirty look and smiled, hearing his laughter as he went up the drive. Well, I thought one more cup of acid and then off to my fate. I washed the cups and shut down all but the small LED light in the kitchen then I locked the cabin door behind me as I headed for my car. ------- Chapter 10 When I pulled up to the school, I saw immediately that I was going to have to walk a little ways. There were cars and trucks parked as far as I could see up and down both sides of the road. Since I didn't want to get hemmed in, I pulled into a small field across from the school and turned my car facing outwards. When I got out, I immediately noticed a small Border Patrol Helicopter parked in the open field behind the school and wondered who had come in. Zeke hadn't mentioned any guests being here tonight so my curiosity was aroused as I slipped in the side door to the gym. I moved to the side with my back against the wall, just as the Sheriff finished whatever he was saying to the crowd. Not a person clapped, but I did hear a few quiet "bullshits" from the audience as he finished. The next person to come forward to speak was dressed in a Border Patrol uniform and sitting next to where he had been sitting was an Army Colonel in a dress uniform too. I was surprised the Sheriff hadn't introduced him but as he started speaking, the reason became clear to me. "Ladies and gentlemen, and I say that respectfully, my name is Superintendent Dan McGuire. I am the local Border Patrol supervisor in charge of this area. Now I listened to what the Sheriff had to say and although I respect him, he is wrong in several of the points and ideas he passed on to all of you. First, let me say that since the President declared Martial Law, his authority no longer exists except as a minor helper to the Federal Government. Since the Army is active throughout this part of the state, they are in total control of all law enforcement personnel and oversee the safety of the citizens of this area along with my agents. Since there are no active federal agencies here in San Simon, we have decided to activate a retired Deputy U.S. Marshal who lives here. He will be in charge of the town and its defenses and will receive all the cooperation the Border Patrol and the US Army can give him to help protect all of you. He can and will ask for your help to insure your safety and the safety of your families. Now, before I step aside, I would like to introduce all of you to Colonel Kittrick of Ft. Huachuca, who is here to bring all of you up to date as to what is happening." As he finished speaking, I got a sinking feeling and started looking around for Zeke or Barry. I couldn't see either one so I gave it up as the Colonel stepped up to the mic. I watched as he stood silent for a few minutes, waiting for the murmuring of the crowd to die down. "Since you already know my name, I don't have to keep repeating it to you. Now I am not going to mince words and I am not going to lie to you about what's going on. I know there are several Ham Radio operators here 'cause I have been in touch with a couple of them in the last few days. People, this is not an isolated incident as we were led to believe at first. People in almost every country in the world are dying by the millions. The more populous the country, the more people are getting this virus. Our eastern and western seaboard has been hit badly and millions are dead. I am sure all of you have one time or another watched a zombie movie, you can imagine those staggering corpses wandering all over the big cities, attacking anyone who is not one of them." He waited for the laughter to die down before continuing what he was saying. "This is a little more serious than that is. The ones getting the virus die and go into violent convulsions then re-animate. Yes, they are dead, but they don't pass the virus on if they bite you. They turn into violent cannibals and eat humans who are still alive and healthy. As a matter of record, they hunt them like packs of dogs and eat any they catch. Now from all observations, they die within hours of contracting the virus and re-animate within twenty four hours. We have learned from our units back east that the only way to kill them is by shooting them in the head. Anywhere else doesn't even slow them down. So far, we in this part of the world, have been very lucky and I plan to keep it that way. We have planted minefields all along the border with more being put in every hour. The Border Patrol is manning all crossings with our help, keeping anyone from crossing over. We have sniper positions on every piece of high ground all around you in constant radio contact with the base. Your job is to keep strangers out until we can get troops to you and any other city under attack, and rest assured, we will come to back you up. Now I know this is a lot to take in at once, so instead of me standing up here spouting facts and ideas, why don't we take a break and have some of that home cooking I been smelling for the last hour. After we eat, I will take questions and address any other problems you might have." Before I realized it, the lights had come back up and I felt like they were all shining on me for some reason. The people who were previously sitting in the audience were now setting up tables, and I noticed a lot of them going outside so I slipped back out the door. I figured to try and find Zeke or Barry and find out what was happening 'cause I could see by the look on the Sheriff's face he was not happy with what had been said. I sure didn't need to have a run in with him right now. I headed to my car and dug out my pipe, filling it and sitting on the hood puffing, watching for someone I knew to come out. I had almost finished smoking when I saw BK coming out so I whistled and he saw me immediately. I noticed he was using his walking cane and knew his feet were bothering him again. When he came up to me, he leaned against the front of the car with me before he spoke. "Well, you're here but I didn't see you inside. For your edification, in case you were too late to hear the Sheriff speak, he made a total ass of himself, just like you thought he would. He repeated almost word for word what you said he told you earlier. I almost busted out laughing when McGuire shot his ass down as soon as he started speaking. Thom, as far as I know, you are the only retired Deputy U.S. Marshal in this whole area. Do you think they plan on putting you in charge here?" "I hope to hell not, BK. Kittrick looks familiar as hell to me, but for the life of me I don't know from where. I didn't hear the whole speech the Sheriff gave 'cause I came in the side door just as he finished. I did hear a few sarcastic 'bullshits' from the audience when he finished, though. At least he didn't try to feed these people a line of shit like the Sheriff did." We looked at each other and as if on signal we both busted out laughing. That's how Barry and Kittrick found us when they walked over to where we were trying to catch our breath. "Thom, I took your advice and resigned right after you left this afternoon. Hell, my family is more important than the Sheriff's political position. You were right, though; he didn't plan on doing anything other than giving false hope then going back to his office, leaving us high and dry and on our own." I was watching Kittrick as Barry spoke, and noticed the half assed smile when I caught him watching me as I was watching him. His next words shocked the hell out of me though. "You don't remember me, do you Marshal?" "I know you look familiar as hell but no, I can't remember from where." "I was a Captain in charge of the MPs at Fort Hood back in '92 when you brought in a prisoner from Japan. I gave you hell for having him chained up so heavily to transport him. You told me to kiss your ass and filed a complaint with the Fort Commander. I caught hell over that one but as soon as we signed off on him and you left, he beat the hell out of two of my men and almost escaped again. Believe it or not, I learned a hard lesson from my stupidity while coddling criminals. From that day on, whenever we transported a prisoner, I did just like you had and we never had one escape or injure anyone. Although I was pissed for a while, I finally admitted to myself that maybe you knew something that I hadn't learned yet. I went to the Marshal training academy and took their course on prisoner transport and treatment, and got a rude awakening from some of the films that we were shown. Marshal, how many prisoners had you captured and transported before they forced you to retire?" "I never kept any kind of count, but I would guess several thousand in eighteen years of service. I worked alone for many years before they changed the rules and said we had to work in teams. When I got cancer and started getting sick, they forced me out on a medical retirement. I went to work for several years as a bodyguard for important people through the DOJ before I decided it wasn't worth the stress. Then I went to work for the county where I stayed eight years or so before I finally retired." "Yeah, well, if it wasn't for your current VA records, we never would have found out where you were living. You completely dropped out of sight and everyone thought you were still in Florida until, as I said, they finally tracked you down through your VA records. Marshal, you are now officially reactivated and in charge of this whole area. It will be up to you to try to keep these people safe. I will talk to you after the meeting tonight and you will also be introduced to the people here, so expect to give some kind of speech 'cause I will be turning the floor over to you after I answer any questions these people have. Oh, and if you have any complaints about your activation, take it up with Homeland Security, if any of them are still alive." With that he tossed me a folded leather case that I caught and immediately realized it was my old ID and badge. Hell, other than I looked younger, the picture matched me and I had to admit that although I had less hair now it was definitely me. I looked at BK and Barry and I must have had a sign on my forehead that said I was shocked as they both started laughing at me. I gave them both a dirty look and the universal finger and walked away. Damn, I thought to myself, there goes any chance I have of hiding and sitting this one out. Shit! ------- Chapter 11 I was feeling a little down as I headed back to the gym. I hated public speaking and Kittrick had already said I would have to speak later. When I got to the main door, the smell of food about knocked me over. I went inside and saw the end of the line right in front of me, so I just joined it. I don't know what they had been cooking all day, but my mouth was watering from the smells. I was looking around as the line moved and realized I had either seen or met most of the people in the room. Some had even sat down and joined us at the bull sessions we had in the evenings. I was wondering what I was going to tell them and then it hit me; all I had to do was to give my own outlook on the situation and let it go from there. I did know that we needed firearms and I don't mean pistols or saddle guns. If we were going to be able to stand off any kind of raid, we were going to need something a lot more modern than what I had seen floating around the barricades. I had noticed that over half of the men and women here were packing pistols and all of them seemed comfortable with them. When I finally got to where the women were putting food on our plates, I couldn't believe the different kinds and amounts that were available. If I could think of it, I would be willing to bet someone had cooked it. When I got to the end, I was doubly surprised to see homemade bread! It was still warm and two slices were handed to me to pile on my plate with the rest of the food. If anybody went hungry tonight it would be their own fault, 'cause it took both hands just to hold the weight of the plate. I was offered a drink and told the lady I would have to come back for it. She said don't worry I will send one of the kids over with your drink and pie when you get seated. I thanked her and had started looking for a place to sit when I noticed Shelly was waving at me, so I headed that way. By the time I had carefully worked my way to their table, my arms were tired from holding up the weight of the food on my plate. I carefully sat the plate down and just collapsed in the chair. "Boy, they really piled your plate full, didn't they?" "Brenda, if I am able to eat half of this it will be a minor miracle. I hate to be the spoilsport, but isn't this a big waste of our resources?" "Nah, we didn't touch any of the stored stuff in the walk-ins. All of this came in on those two big helicopters today. A lot of it was pre-cooked by the Army and put in big covered pans, so all we had to do was heat it up. Bowie and several other towns all got the same things when they got their delivery. I have a feeling this will be the last of some things that we will see for awhile. Thom, who is going to be in charge now that Barry has resigned and the Sheriff is no longer telling everyone what to do?" "Well as much as I hate to say it, I guess it's gonna be me. But, I am going to make sure Barry is my second-in-command because he is well liked and respected by almost everyone in town. I didn't plan on this, but the government in their infinite wisdom decided that since I was a former Marshal, I would just have to accept it. We all are going to have a lot to do and a very short window to do it in. Brenda, your husband and that old geezer in line behind him thought it was funny when Kittrick handed me my old ID and told me I was now in charge. I bet with Shelly and Mikey's help we can turn it around on them while they stuff their faces." I laid out a quick plan while they were getting their food, and all three of them decided they wanted in on it. They started discussing ways to get to their dad and BK for laughing at me. Me, I just let it go in one ear and out the other while stuffing my face. When they finally made it to the table, I hurriedly finished my food and winked at Shelly when I got up. I was making room for BK and Barry to sit since Brenda had gotten up and was cleaning the table. I hadn't quite made it to the dirty dish tubs when I hear a very loud; "I have to do what?" come from Barry. It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud as I dropped off my dirty dishes and headed for the coffee pot. I finally got a cup and was looking around when I saw Zeke, the Sheriff, Kittrick, and the Border Patrol Super standing together. I headed that way just in time to hear ole Zeke cut loose on him. "Sheriff, you been in office with us backing you for years, and now all of a sudden when it comes down to nut cracking time, you just shout out a bunch of bullshit to everyone and go back to your office out of harm's way. Let me tell you something; either get off your ass and help us out or someone who loses a loved one is gonna blow your ass away. I am glad these two were here tonight because I was getting ready to kick your ass out the door after your little speech. You better change your way of thinking 'cause this country is never gonna be the same after this finishes playing out. Sooner or later this bug is gonna finish running its course and then we will spend years getting rid of these abominations it caused. Remember, I already told you, people have died by the millions below the border. You know as well as I do that the people who survive are going to be heading this way because we have a lower population per area than what they do. Now me, I don't mind honest people trying to save themselves by coming this way, but you can bet the cartels will be coming with them, trying to run it like they are used to. There is gonna be a lot of killing by the time this settles and we are gonna lose a lot of good people trying to protect ourselves. I have a feeling I know who is gonna be in charge here and let me tell you, with what I already know and what I have been able to find out from some of my sources, he ain't gonna put up with any bullshit from anyone including you. If we do what he says and how he says to do it, we might survive and be safe 'till this bug dies off." "That may well be, Zeke, but I think I know who you're talking about. Barry told me what he had to say and he won't win any trust by doing it the way he wants to do it. Using the school and truck-stop as fall back points is just gonna get everyone killed if you are raided. If it were me running the show, I would combine Bowie and this place together so you stood a better chance with more people fighting together. Besides, where you gonna find enough firearms and ammo for them to stand off a siege? If you give up the truck-stop and just gather at the school, you have everyone in one place and more people to fight. It's a lot more central than the truck-stop." I had heard enough and started to step in when someone called the meeting to order on the PA system. They all headed that way so I just went to the door and stood to the side like before. I was thinking hard to myself about what the Sheriff had been spouting off about and missed most of the question and answer session with Kittrick. Hell, I even missed my name being called to come up on stage. I was rapidly reminded when BK stepped up and said loudly;" You're being paged, wake up!" ------- Chapter 12 Needless to say, the laughter that greeted me as I stepped up on the stage had me a little red faced and embarrassed. I got up to the mic and looked out across the audience at the smiles and wondered to myself how many would still be smiling a month from now. "Hi everyone, my name is Thom, if you didn't know it already. Now before the meeting was called back to order, I overheard our esteemed Sheriff saying I would be a fool to use the truck-stop as a backup position. Now that may very well be, but look at it this way; our fuel is in those tanks and without fuel we don't have generators when the electric goes out. It will, because there will be no one taking care of the lines and sub stations. The truck-stop has food which we will need and it overlooks the interstate so we will be able to observe anyone coming our way. This school has its own generators as well as considerable room for sleeping, eating, and our main supply of food is stored here. This will be the backup position for this end of town and the truck-stop for the other end. Whichever one you make it to when the sirens are sounded will be fine. I don't know how many of you have guns, but I want everyone who does to be armed at all times. Those of you who don't will be given arms to protect yourselves. The women will be in charge of the fallback positions and those of you who have a moral objection to using firearms will be assigned jobs to do so you don't have to fight." "HOW COME THE WOMEN ARE IN CHARGE OF THE FALLBACK POSITIONS?" "Well, to answer that question, have you ever seen a mama grizzly when someone threatens her babies? You men out there will learn to accept that women are three times as vicious as a man when they feel threatened or their families are in danger. If you don't like it then you can guard the barricades, but on that subject there will be no argument. What I am doing is the best way to protect your families from raids if anyone gets this far. The rules have changed folks; we protect what resources we have and our families to the best of our ability. When this is over, the world won't be the same and the people of this little town will survive or I will want to know the reason why. If I make a dumb plan, let me or my second Barry know and we will listen to any and all of you, if it helps all of us. We will start building our defenses in the morning. The school is in pretty good condition, but will need to be checked for security, and we have several hours of work at the truck-stop to make it ready. We will have lookouts on the roof of both places with binoculars to warn us, and the positions will be manned at all times. The women will do it here at the school and the teenagers can do it at the truck-stop. Those of you who have portable welders and cutting torches, I want you at the truck-stop at eight in the morning. I will also need a couple of trucks with flatbeds to do some hauling, so let's all meet there at eight. I want the women to decide who keeps inventory and all of you can work out who takes care of the children while the others get everything set up here. Now, we will be closing off several of the outside doors here so we won't have to guard so many if we get raided. That way we have more people to guard our main entrances. If any of you have a fuel tanker truck, I want the fuel tanks here topped off as soon as you can. Now I will touch on a sore subject, and I know it won't go over well with some of you, but it has to be done this way so we don't have people killed off before we are able to get to them. You ranchers who live way out there in the desert, I want you and your food supplies moved into town as soon as you can manage it. If you use propane to heat and cook with I want the tanks disconnected from your houses and moved to where they won't cause a fire if they are blown up. I want all the farm machinery and heavy equipment disabled so they can't be used against us here. Those of you who have dozers and backhoes I want them moved into town. We will be doing some landscaping around our town as a little surprise if anyone decides to try to sneak in." "HOW IS ABANDONING OUR HOMES AND RANCHES GONNA HELP US, AND WHY SHOULD WE JUST LEAVE EVERYTHING WE OWN BEHIND TO MOVE INTO TOWN? WHAT ABOUT OUR LIVESTOCK?" This time I caught who was doing the shouting because Zeke had warned me about him before the meeting. He was always the one who argued against any changes at the ranchers meeting every month. This time I was ready for his outburst. "Daryl, don't sit on your ass and shout out questions. Stand up like a man and ask me face to face. I am sure everyone here wants to know the same things. STAND UP, DARYL!" I watched along with everyone else as he slowly stood up to face me. I waited a few moments to make sure everyone was staring at him before I answered his question. "Thank you. I will answer your question in a somewhat brutal way, but it will maybe sink into your skull just why you need to do as I have asked. You have a wife, a baby, two daughters, and two ranch hands out at your place. You live about a half an hour away going cross-country and almost forty five minutes or better by road. Now suppose you got up one morning and just like every other morning, you go out to do your morning chores. Just when you were into it, you were attacked by a bunch of raiders who were after food and anything else they could steal. You're caught because they have automatic weapons and have already killed your hands in the first volley, and there are twenty or thirty of them. They force you at gunpoint into your home and rape your wife and daughters in front of you. Then the baby starts crying for breakfast and one of them shoots the baby to shut it up. Then they take anything they want while forcing you to watch the gang rape still going on. Then after they are all done, they shoot them and then you. We wouldn't know about it unless someone stopped out to your place, wondering why they hadn't heard from you for a while. Hell, we wouldn't know and would have no warning about any raiders, and by then all we could do was bury you. Think about it; just because you were being stubborn, you went through hell and watched your entire family die because you thought that you had to stay on your ranch. Hell, turn your livestock loose, do as I said, and bring your family in to town where we can protect them. Now don't think it can't happen to any of you, because it can and it will be sudden. None of you will have any warning. There are going to be raiders or when it comes down to it, savages who will kill, rape, and murder to get the things they need. There will be no law enforcement in the country other than the Army and Border Patrol, and you have to remember they can't be everywhere at once. If you are here, you will know where your family is at all times. Out there at your ranches, you are cut off from any protection other than what you can provide. Now, how many ranchers in this room believe you can stand off twenty or thirty men with automatic weapons who don't give a damn if they kill someone or not? That's what we are facing every day, folks, until this situation settles down. I can't force any of you to do as I suggest, but I do suggest that all of you talk it over among yourselves. Let's take a coffee break and reconvene in about a half an hour." I noticed Daryl had turned white and kept glancing at his family as I talked, so I hoped I had gotten through to him. I knew what I had described was going to happen and it was just a matter of time before it did. When I stepped down off the stage, the Sheriff was in my face immediately shouting and spitting. I didn't even slow down; I just kicked him in the balls as I walked by him and went for a cup of coffee. I heard several laughs and guffaws as I filled my cup and went outside to get some fresh air. ------- Chapter 13 I hadn't been outside but about three minutes when I was joined by BK, Zeke, Kittrick, and Daryl. I knew Daryl would be the first one to speak and I was right. "Do you think what you said in there will really happen?" "Daryl, I know you have worked your ass off to make your place a home as well as a living but yes, it will happen and it's just a matter of when it will. I can't make you move into town, but I strongly suggest you do so as soon as you can. When the good law abiding people die off, what we have left is the dregs of society and they wouldn't blink twice about killing and raping." I watched as he nodded his head and went back inside. Before the door closed, the monologue started. Zeke: Thom, I thought maybe you were pouring it on a little thick, but after thinking about it, I believe that something like you described could easily happen. We need to remember, we also have several state and federal prisons within a hundred miles or so from us and even if they catch it, some are gonna survive. We need to think about that too. Have you thought about where we are going to get some better firearms? What we have are not good enough for the job that will be facing us. Kittrick: Well, I think some of the things I brought on the helicopters this afternoon will help out a lot. I gave six little towns still untouched by the bug some weapons to help. Now they aren't the best nor American made but I think they will do a good job if you give them a chance. I don't know about the Sheriff though. I can't believe he still thinks he is still in charge. Thom, you said what needed to be said and I think they will bring their families into town. I think we will take the Sheriff with us when we leave, just to make sure he will survive. We need him to be a figurehead for the area since everyone knows him. Oh, before I forget, we lost contact with Safford this morning just before we flew here. I checked in with my radio people and they still haven't been able to raise anyone. I am worried about the prisons up there but until this bug runs its course, I am not going to put my personnel at risk. We will stay in the areas that haven't been infected and try to keep them from being so. Thom, I will try to back you up in any way I can, but we will be keeping a lot of personnel on the border. BK: I know Thom and Zeke and I don't know the Colonel, but I would be willing to bet our first trouble will be with that bunch of RVs over in Steins. I don't know how many days' supplies they have, but when they start getting low they will be looking for somewhere to stock up. There is only one well over there, if I remember correctly, and the few people who still lived there all used it. It's alkali water, but drinkable. If Safford has been infected, then there will be lots of people headed for our area and north towards Phoenix and Willcox. We need to warn Bowie about it also. They are closer than we are to Safford. There are lots of back roads from Safford to Bowie that the locals know about and will use to get out of Safford. Kittrick: We warned them earlier, but they seem to think it's just a radio glitch or something. I told them twice to watch all the roads in but I was more or less told that they could watch out for themselves. The Fire Chief is in charge over there by popular vote. Thom, is there anything else you can think of that I can provide to help? Since the base was supposed to be the host for reserve and active desert training this year, they have been stocking us all winter. We have a lot of stuff we can hand out if someone can show cause that they need it. My Commanding Officer was called back east three weeks ago for briefings and we haven't heard a thing from him. If he showed up now, I would refuse him or anyone else entry to the base for any reason. Zeke just flinched when Kittrick said who was in charge in Bowie, so I kinda took it to be bad news. I hadn't met the Fire Chief so I wasn't going to worry about it unless they tried to get in here. No one would be coming into San Simon until I knew the danger of this virus had burnt itself out. Thom: There are a couple of things we need here bad, Colonel. We need a good medic and a couple of humvees if you can spare them. I would like to have both of them armed so we can set them up at the barricades. Also, we need short range walkie talkies for communications between the fallbacks and the barricades. I need at least two that I can get ahold of you with in case of emergency, and also some of those new night vision setups the Army is using. Night time will be our weakest time. With the guards on the roofs they can see the country around us for miles. You said you had snipers everywhere and I want a way to contact those closest to us to utilize them if we are attacked. I also would like some claymores as well as some landmines to put along the outer fence behind the school. I want to make sure the women and children have all the protection I can afford them. I would also like some grenades for the men on the barricades in case someone tries to ram us. I would bet that almost eighty percent of the men here are Vets so there won't have to be a lot of training. Granted we are all old, but you never forget your training. I must have shook up Kittrick as he was looking at me in shock with his mouth open. BK was just shaking his head and Zeke was doing the same but with a grin on his face. I sipped my coffee but it was cold, so I spit it out and headed back inside to get this meeting over with. They all followed me back in but I didn't hear a word out of the three of them. I grabbed another cup of coffee and headed back to the stage. "Let's take our seats so we can listen to me running my mouth some more. I have made my point as to why the ranchers should come in but I can't force any of you to do it, so if you decide to stay on your ranches, then you are on your own. As of now, we are a closed town. If any of you see a stranger, fire a warning shot and tell them to turn around and leave immediately. If they don't listen, shoot to kill. I know this sounds harsh but if one person comes in here that wasn't already here, he or she might have the virus and spread it to everyone. All it takes is one stranger and we will be shooting our own in the head and burning them. We are trying to avoid that so we have to be harsh in our handling of strangers. Now I think I have said enough for this evening, so I will conclude this with a warning to all of you. We are running very short on time to get our defenses ready and we will need everyone's cooperation. Our lives depend on each other and our actions as we all work together. I can only do so much, and I will personally shoot the first SOB who tries to undermine our efforts. We have to survive this and the only way we stand any kind of chance of doing so is to work together. Go home, talk to the ones you are closest to, and think about survival 'cause that is what our goal is. People, it just gonna get a lot worse before it gets any better, and we as a city and community have to survive this plague that has been thrust upon us by being tough and watching out for each other. We will have another meeting in a couple of days when we get everything together and everyone gets into what we are trying to accomplish. Oh, and I suggest all of you start bringing your extra canned goods and a bag in here so if you have to bug out, you will already be set up here. Put your name on your bag and someone will show you where to store it. Good night and God Bless, 'cause we are on our own from this point on." ------- Chapter 14 I stepped off the stage and several people came over to me and either asked a few questions or introduced themselves to me. I just politely answered any questions and more or less chit chatted for a little while. I was surprised that they were mainly pledging their cooperation to me and asking what they could do to help or where and what they would be able to bring to the school to make their lives easier if they had to move here. I was rather surprised that they were mostly worried about where they could get guns and some wanted lessons on firing them as they hadn't handled guns before. All in all, it was a pleasant interlude. Kittrick caught my eye and motioned for me to follow him, so I figured we were headed for the principal's office again. When I walked inside, there were folding chairs set up for more people around the wall. We were joined by Zeke, McGuire, the Sheriff, and Barry. When we were all seated Barry closed the door and then the Sheriff exploded. "You are under arrest for assault. You WILL be going back to Bisbee with me when I leave here. I am going to lock you up before you get all these people killed with your so called plans. This is my county and I say who does what and when. Barry, you resigned your position as a Deputy so you can leave." Before I could do anything, Kittrick spoke up, and to say he was pissed would be putting it mildly. "You, Sir, will stand down and shut the hell up! You are not in charge of anything, the Federal Government is, and Thom is in charge of this town and area. I think you better get your head out of your ass before I take you to the Fort and lock you in the Brig until this is over. You have done nothing but cause problems since you arrived. You have no arrest powers and from this point on, you will assist Thom and the other small towns to the best of your ability. You will surrender any extra arms you have along with the ammo. I will be sending a Chopper with my men on board to gather what you have to help out. I want all walkie talkies as well as any extra marked vehicles for our use. Thom will have a 4x4 and Barry will be keeping his to use here. Also, any disaster supplies stored in the County will be turned over to the Army for distribution to the areas that need them. You, Sir, have come to a fork in the road. You either help or I will lock your ass up and let someone else from your office do what you should be doing. Your choice, Sheriff!" Before we could move there was a knock at the door and the pilot came in and whispered something in McGuire's ear. He got up and abruptly left, leaving the door open. I had leaned over to close it when Barry's wife came in and put a tray of cups and a carafe of coffee on the desk and closed the door as she left. I had a cup in hand before anyone else could move. Zeke was next and when I glanced at him he winked at me and sat back down. I almost dropped my cup in shock and grinned to myself as I sipped the nectar from the gods. I was watching the Sheriff, waiting to see what he was going to do, and his next move or sentence I think surprised all of us, if Zeke's reaction was any indicator. Hell, he almost dropped his coffee cup in surprise and for Zeke that was unusual to say the least. "Thank you, Colonel. Now I can go home to my wife and kids and try to save some of the people in my area like Thom is doing here. I admit I was a bastard, but in my defense, I was waiting on someone like you to clarify my position. Besides, to put it truthfully, I am scared as hell and glad to finally have the decisions taken out of my hands. What is happening is way beyond my experience and I have no idea what I should do. Thom, I apologize for my actions towards you, and I will be using some of your ideas to help out the people in Bisbee. Colonel, you will have my full cooperation in any way you need it. I brought eight walkies and chargers with extra batteries for Barry's use here. We don't have many more available, but you are welcome to them. I have six of the SUVs' like Barry has if you can use them. They are all almost new and just out of being serviced. They all have radios installed with signal boosters for outlying areas. I don't know what's going to happen in the near future, but all I can do is wish all of you luck in standing your ground. Colonel, I have maybe one hundred extra 9 mm carbines that the department has in storage and twenty boxes of ammo for them. I also know that we have approximately fifty extra 40 mm Glocks in storage with plenty of ammo for them. We have a few sniper rifles but not much ammo as they are .308 caliber. The county bought them several years ago and we just left them packed in the original boxes. The county has several large temperature controlled warehouses filled with emergency rations in several cities. I have a list I will turn over to you tomorrow where the different locations are. Now, may I please have some of that coffee? My nerves are shot." He was pouring a cup when McGuire came in, looking a little shaken. "We have a couple of incidents, Colonel. The RVs that were in Steins are headed through the desert, trying to find a way to Portal. They can make it but it will be rough on them the way they are going. My men got a count on the vehicles and they are double of the ones that were turned back at the border. There are over a hundred RVs headed south. We will have to intercept them before they get there. I don't know where the hell we can send them to, but Portal is virus free and I don't want them in there. The Mexican Army made a push to cross at Douglas, but we turned them back. There were three of ours wounded, none seriously, and over a hundred Mexicans killed. They refused to stop and we had to open fire. According to my Captain there, they said they would be back with more men. I put the pilots on alert as per your instructions. I think it would be wise for us to return tonight and get set up for the morning. We can drop the Sheriff in Bisbee at their helipad on our way back." "Ok, Dan, tell the pilot to warm it up. Sheriff, looks like you are going home tonight with us. Thom, good luck and I will see what I can do about your requests. I don't see a problem with any of it, but I will check with the base and see what we can spare when I get there. Your SUV and special radios will come in tomorrow and there are twenty five older, but in excellent condition, AKs in the gym with plenty of ammo and filled magazines and carry vests. I will monitor the Sheriff's radio for now until you get the ones I will be sending you, along with an operator and medic for the town. Good luck, gentlemen, and stay safe." Barry, Zeke, and I watched them leave and I just let out a deep sigh. This was getting serious fast and we weren't set up for it yet. "Barry, you know what to do in the morning at the truck stop. From this point on we are taking it over, and we need to set up JB to be in charge of it. We will be rationing fuel and from tomorrow on, only working trucks will be able to draw fuel. We need to cut down on how many vehicles are traveling around and just have the watches travel in one truck, using this school as the staging area. Tomorrow I want the generator tanks for the school filled up. Zeke, I would appreciate it if you could repair the truck stop's generator. JB said the parts to fix it came in. I will have BK come in and look at the weapons and get them ready to hand out to those who know how to shoot them. I want vets to have first preference because we won't have to train them on automatic weapons. Any leftovers we will use as teaching tools for those men who have no experience. The barricades are now our top priority and those watching them will have walkies to alert us to any problems. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day so I suggest we all go home and get some sleep. Barry, does your wife have keys to the school? It will be locked at all times until we have permanent personnel inside. Zeke, if any of your friends are good at defense, have them check out the school for weak points and see which doors we can chain off to cut down on guards. Have one of the guys build small shelters on the roofs of the school and truck stop to get our people out of the sun while they keep watch on the surrounding areas. I will be running back and forth between here and the truck stop and will try to help out all I can. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am going home. We have a busy day tomorrow." ------- Chapter 15 The next two days were an exercise in short tempers and teaching independent ranchers how to change their mindset to that of following orders. Barry did an excellent job and seemed to be everywhere. Hell, if the truth were known, he was doing a better job than I was. All I seemed to do was settle petty bickering and arguments between the younger people and the ranchers about the ranchers giving orders to them about what to do. Kittrick did come through big time with three of the armored humvees. They had .50 caliber machine guns mounted and plenty of ammo for them. I did find out that the older gentleman who was talking to Brenda the night of the meeting was named Miguel, and he was not only the custodian but the maintenance man for the school. He was also a Gulf War Vet, so I immediately put him in charge of the school security. We converted the brick building in the back of the school to be our armory since we could get to it safely from one of the exit doors. It had bars on the windows and there were only four keys to it. I had to laugh though when BK put up a fight about being in charge of our small armory. He kept giving me excuses about not knowing enough about modern weapons. I just looked at him and said; "BK, you're the only one I trust a hundred percent here, and I know damned well that you will make sure what little we have will be there when we need it." Well, after his usual dirty look, he said he would try, which knowing him meant that unless he was dead our supplies would be there when we needed them. The ranchers had pretty well moved into vacant houses and the school when our first test came. We had just cleared all the brush away from around the truck stop when I got a call from Barry saying there was a large cloud of dust heading in our direction from Safford, coming across the desert and bypassing Bowie. I had the school outside bell set off, calling in all the guards who were not already on duty to the school. I was surprised when in less than five minutes I had thirty armed men in the parking lot, loading up in pickups and headed for the barricade at the truck stop. When we had the walkies handed out, we had assigned call letters to the ones who were in charge of the barricades. Barry was SS2 and I was SS1, and the barricade by the port was B1 and the one at the truck stop was B2. Harp hadn't found the extra weapons in the cave saying they were gone when he got there, but he did find eight crates full of the same caliber as the AKs we were using. When we had polled the men, I was surprised that over sixty percent of them were either vets of different wars, or had been trained by different military branches and knew what to do. We had been conducting shooting classes and a small range we set up along the side of the school. The men and almost all the women were training with pistols and the ranch rifles we had enough ammo for, and according to Zeke, they would be able to more than defend the school and the kids if it was needed. What was a surprise to me, which in retrospect I should have known, was how many of the kids ten and up showed up with their own rifles, and saying they were good with them would be an understatement. They were also very responsible and they all said they were trained by their families. Me, not being originally from this area, I finally realized I was in the west where firearms were a matter of protection, where snakes and coyotes were a danger to people and livestock. Before I pulled out, I advised our radio operator to call the fort and ask for air support. He had already put the call in and was told two of the attack choppers were on the way, and that they would contact me when they were on site. I went out and headed that way and before I arrived, the choppers said they were over the dust. They reported that it was caused by several RVs and about fifty or so motorcycles, with two on each bike following the RVs. I gave orders to fire ahead of them and warn them away. "SS1, they say they are fleeing from Safford and have nowhere else to go. They are almost out of fuel and food. Please clarify what you want us to do now." "Warn them away from the town and if they refuse, I believe you already have orders on your next step. They are not to be allowed near us for any reason. Again, they may bypass us, but they are not to come within a mile of the town. SS1 out!" I had just set the mike down when I heard the sound of explosions and machine guns. I watched as black smoke started drifting upwards. Damn, I thought, what a waste of lives. As much as I hated it, it was my responsibility to make sure we weren't contaminated until we got word that the infection had quit spreading. "SS1, we were fired upon and have destroyed the convoy. There were ten bikes that turned around and retreated back north. Do you wish us to pursue?" "No, let them go, but shoot any survivors who head in our direction. SS1 out!" "Thom, I know what you're thinking, but you didn't have a choice." "Barry, I hate this shit! Millions are dying from this infection and we are killing what possibly could be healthy people just trying to survive. I know, I know, my responsibility is to the town, but it's still a helluva waste. I just hope I don't have to do this too much or I may just go home and stay there until this is all over. Barry, the next sighting is on your shoulders. I am not going to take all the responsibility. Now, do we have a clear field of fire around the truck stop and the back of the school? Oh, and you know what I have to do now, don't you? Just remember the next time you will have to do it." Without waiting for his answer I jumped into the SUV and drove through the hole they opened in the barricades and took the service road, driving until I could clearly see the fires which were just smoking now. I got out and cut a section of the fence and drove through. The chopper hovering over the area flew away as I drove up. The Army, Border Patrol, and all the town leaders had agreed that as distasteful and cruel as it was, we would have to go to any area where there were dead or wounded and put a bullet in all the corpses heads to keep any of them from coming back to life in case they were infected. I knew the first time that I had to do it; I would have nightmares that I would never forget. The fort had furnished us with small caliber pistols and rifles for this purpose, and they were using the same ones. I stopped fifty feet from the mess that had been humans fifteen minutes earlier and took a deep breath before climbing out of the SUV. Two of the backhoes caught up with me and both drivers were puking. I waited till they got themselves under control and started digging before I walked up and started shooting. From what I could see from the patches on their jackets, most of the bikers belonged to several clubs from different areas north of us. Several were still alive, but even if I could do something for them they wouldn't make it. All of them were armed with automatic weapons and the women were all young; some looked like children. Thank God none of the women seemed to be alive. I thought about picking up the weapons for the town but I couldn't take the chance they might be infected. When I finished, I walked back to my unit and ripped the gas mask off my face, then heaved what little bit I had in my stomach out. I hadn't realized I was crying until I reached for the cooler to get a bottle of water and found that I couldn't see the door handle. I finally got my eyes cleared enough to see what I was doing. For some reason the water had a bitter taste as I rinsed my mouth out. It took almost another hour before the last RV and motorcycle was pushed into the hole the backhoes had dug and covered with sand. I followed the backhoes back to town, hating what I had been forced to do and I am sure the backhoe operators felt the same way. I didn't say a word to anyone, but went directly to the truck stop, taking my computer inside with me. I hadn't checked it for a couple of days and I wanted to see if I had any mail from my friend Ben or my daughter. I sat down in the corner by myself and got online; surprised that the internet was still operating. When I saw how many emails I had from people I stayed in touch with, I sighed and went and got a large black coffee then sat down to answer them. Mostly they were just check-ins, telling me they were ok and what was going on in the different cities they lived in. I answered all that I could and finally found one from Ben. Thom, We are all safe here. We are well provisioned and well armed. Alexandra and I made a late night raid on a local police station and moved a truckload of arms and ammo to the big tugboat we stole. LOL. I got an email from Jack the other night saying him and his family were safe and snug in the cabin. When this bug quits spreading, I am going to try to steal a plane and come to where you are at. If you can, try to figure out a way to pick up Jack and Masha and bring them to where you are when this dies down. Unless these damned Zombies can swim in deep water, we should be ok where we have the tug anchored. There hasn't been much in the way of boat traffic out here, but we are on guard in case of raiders. I have a shortwave radio and am putting up a long antenna so I can contact you when I do. Since we are going to be away from any land, this will probably be the last email until I can get the shortwave working. If you hear someone using the handle Hog Tooth, it will be me. Oh, and your girlfriend says to be safe until she can come to protect you. LMAO I answered but figured he wouldn't see it. Reading that they were safe lightened my mood a little, but there wasn't a thing from my daughter. I answered the rest of my email before shutting the laptop down. I sat staring out through the mesh covering the windows, but didn't see that it was getting dark. When BK sat down across from me I came out of it with a start. "Sorry, you ok?" "Yeah I am, but I wonder what will happen tomorrow, BK. I don't know if I can do this for a long time if today was any example." "Well, just do what you have to, Thom. Brenda sent me to get you to come and eat supper. Shelly was going to come but I got sent instead. How long has Shelly been calling you Pops?" ------- Chapter 16 BK left as if sensing I didn't want to chat. I put my computer in the case and went to my unit. JB waved as I went out the door and I nodded back at him. Driving to the school, I looked around at all the landscape changes we had made to try to make the town safer. I was surprised at how much we had accomplished in the two days we had been working at it. I went to the side parking lot at the school, looked out across the back of the school beyond the ball field, and couldn't see anything but sand. All the brush had been cleared and the arroyos had all been filled in so there would be no surprises from that direction. I looked up at the roof and one of the kids up there waved at me and gave me the all clear sign. I waved back and smiled to myself thinking what a difference between these kids and the ones I was used to from the bigger cities. When I got close to the door, I could smell the food and realized I hadn't eaten anything all day. I went in and headed for the line to fill a plate. Before I got halfway across the floor, Shelly yelled and motioned me to the table where Barry, BK and her brother were sitting. When I walked up, I saw a plate piled high and she motioned towards it. "'Bout time you got here, Pops. I been guarding your food from Dad. Sit down and eat, and then we need to talk." When I looked at her in shock, I got that ornery grin of hers in return. I just sat down, listening to chuckling from BK and Barry. Zeke came over and sat down, sipping his cup of coffee, which seemed a part of his hand wherever he was. I quickly ate and sat back, sipping my own cup as Shelly cleared the plate away. Zeke: Thom, after what happened today, me and some of the other old fellas had a kind of mini meeting. You know you can't do what you had to do today without having it affect you in the long term. Barry is not like us old timers and I doubt he could even do it if he had to. What I am trying to say here is the next time it happens, we decided we would draw straws to see who would go out. We been there already as you have, and although like you, we hate the idea, we all realize it has to be done until this stops spreading. Thom, you and Barry have done a helluva job getting all of us ready for this, but we all wanted you to know you are not alone. This is our town too, and we need to help carry the load as well as the guilt of the aftermath. So far we have been pretty safe, but as this goes on our danger of being attacked is gonna go up. I talked to some of the radio operators in some of the states close to us and from what they said, those things are starting to spread out into the countryside and are starting to eat wildlife if they can't find humans. I was afraid this was going to happen and I finally got in contact with a buddy who lived outside of Nogales. He says those things are pretty much the only thing living there, at least on the south side of the border. He says he watches them on a regular basis and they seem to be getting organized somehow. I think that sooner or later they will start this way. The Army and Border Patrol are gonna have their hands full then, and we will be on our own most of the time after that happens. I got with our radio operator and we have a separate room for all our radio equipment. We are monitoring everything we can and the news from around the country is not good. The outbreaks of new cases seems to be dying down, but in the bigger cities it is still going strong with people getting sick and changing. Some of the countries, like Australia, have been killing them as fast as they change, and have pretty good control over their bigger cities. The European countries are in total denial and losing people by the hour from this sickness. The only country doing something other than Australia is Russia. They have no tolerance for the sick and are putting them in big warehouses and strapping them to beds. If they die and change they are immediately shot and taken to a burning area to be disposed of. Mexico is overrun with the animated and they are spreading out to the countryside. The Army down there has quit shooting them and seems to be moving south rather than face them. They have abandoned the population who has survived. From what Kittrick has said, this bunch this morning were the first to have tried to move to a town so far. He says there are several other bunches who are moving around, but they seem to be disorganized. Kittrick said that bunch from Steins have stopped at an old ranch and seem to be trying to draw water from a well there. If it's the old Haney place, that well is deep and still has good water. That's about all the news I have for now. Barry: Well, first I want to apologize for my daughter calling you Pops. For some reason me and Brenda can't understand, she has somehow decided that you are her grandfather since both of hers have passed, so don't be upset with her. We tried to talk to her, but she said if you didn't like it you would have to tell her. We are rotating all the barricade guards so that they get time with their families and they all seem to like how I am doing it. So far there haven't been any big problems, other than a few personality clashes, and I have got them straightened out pretty well. Thom, everyone in town has had nothing but good things to say as to how we have things set up. The women have nothing but praise for you and the men are all behind you a hundred percent. We have set up the mines and claymores like you said. The maps showing where they are at are posted in both the truck stop and the school in the radio room here. Thom, I have racked my brain, but I can't think of anything else we can do to make us more secure. Now I think BK had some things to add, so I will shut up. BK: I don't have much to add other than we have enough reloading supplies to do all the ranch rifles a thousand times over. I spread the word among the ranchers for them to bring all their reloading supplies in and now I have more stuff than I have ever seen, even in a commercial store. I can reload everything except for the fifties and the AKs. I could do them too if I had the bullets for them. Ole Harp moved all the food and canned goods from his store here as well as about a hundred 12 volt batteries. He said he has hundreds of tires and a complete changing machine as well as patches and we are welcome to use if we need them. That warehouse of his has a complete machine shop in it and all the stuff to do about any type of milling we need. I walked through it and couldn't believe some of the steel stock he has inside. When I looked at some of the milling machines, I was surprised because they aren't old but all modern equipment, including some laser cutting machines for different applications. They are all hooked up and ready to use, and he has a huge diesel generator as a backup. So far we are in good shape for ammo, but soon we will need brass for some of the more common rifles and pistols. We have about 40,000 rounds of .22s for the kid's rifles. Thom, they all seem to have the Ruger 10/22s, and they are damned good with them. Hell, Shelly and her brother can put a group at 30 yards that a dime would cover. I ain't ever seen so many dead shots with a .22 like these kids. I sat back, thinking about everything I had been told, and couldn't help but take a great pride in the people of the town I called my home. Like most of the western people I had met, they all took pride in whatever job they had to do and they all seemed to do it right the first time. When we had been setting up on the first day, I had slept on the short couch in the principal's office and had a backache all day from it. When I had come in the second night, there was a great big long comfortable leather couch that was more comfortable than my bed at the cabin. When I had inquired about where it came from, I found out they had taken it from the coach's office on Shelly's orders so I could get a good night's sleep. When I had thanked her, I got that ornery grin from her that I had come to love in the short time I had known her. Realistically, she was like my daughter at that age and I had come to enjoy my interactions with her. I had brought my dirty clothes in the second day to do them at the school and while I was out at the truck stop, Shelly had taken them out of my car, and washed, dried and folded them, much to my surprise. When I had complained to Brenda about it, I was told she was watching out for me so I could worry about the big things. I had finally got around to asking Brenda how old her and her brother were, and was told Shelly was 14 going on twenty and her brother was 12 but growing up too fast for her and Barry. I was also told by Brenda to quit complaining as it kept Shelly out of her hair. I had just grabbed a refill for my go mug and left, shaking my head at Brenda's laughter. Thom: Zeke, please tell the others I really appreciate what they decided. What I had to do today went against every moral fiber I have built for myself in 60 odd years. I did three tours in Nam and although I have seen almost every cruelty I think exists, today about tore me apart. Barry, I think we have reached our goal for protection and what we have to watch for now is boredom, especially at night on the barricades and lookouts. All it takes is one person dropping the ball to cost us big time and rotating the men is an excellent idea. Barry, don't worry about Shelly, 'cause she acts like my daughter did when she was her age. To be truthful, I enjoy it a lot as I haven't heard from my daughter since all this started. Besides, I can use an angel sitting on my shoulder telling me what to do. BK, now you know why I put you in charge of our armory. You might pick a couple of the older kids that are interested and show them how to reload and help with the other stuff. Zeke, tell the radio operator to listen on the shortwave for someone going by the name of Hog Tooth. That's my friend from down in South America someplace. If he hears from him I am to be called immediately so I can speak to him. Also, have our base called San Simon 1 by all the other operators. I will be roving out in the desert further and will be staying in touch by walkie. I have asked for one of the Army dune buggies to use. I want to keep a close eye on our area to give us a little extra protection. The Army only has limited fuel and the less they have to do the less they use. Barry, have you heard from the Sheriff? "Yeah, he radioed last night and said so far they have only had a few problems with the sickness. He said his area is now clear of those things and they are sending small groups of men out to do away with any they find in the surrounding towns. He wishes us luck and says for us to be careful. Oh and McGuire said that Safford was infected. When they flew over they didn't see a sign of anyone living. Both prisons are filled with zombies inside the fences. He said the fences appeared to be holding them for now but if they break free, we might have problems if they come our way." "Tell him to get with Kittrick and land a small chopper on the roof. Use a loudspeaker to see if there are any living people there and warn them to get the hell out in 48 hours. Then tell Kittrick to mix up some napalm and drop it on both prisons. That way we can destroy those things before they break out. We kill them while they are contained so we don't have to fight them later. Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I am tired and need some sleep. I am bunking in the principal's office if you need me. Thank all of you for all your help." ------- Chapter 17 It seemed like my head no sooner hit the pillow than I was asleep. For a change I didn't dream, at least not that I remembered. The loud knocking at the door woke me from the first sound sleep I could remember having since this all started. "Yeah, I called out?" "Hey Pops, Mom said to wake you as breakfast will be ready in about a half an hour." "Thanks, Shelly!" "You're welcome!" The giggle I heard as she walked away made me smile. I headed for the bathroom off the office and quickly grabbed a shower and shave. I got dressed, making sure I had my pistol and the extra magazine pouches on as I headed out to see what would happen today. I did notice that a laundry basket had appeared in the corner of the bathroom for my dirty clothes, or so I thought. When I walked into the dining room that had been set up in the gym, I saw that the blockade guards were already there and I headed for the coffee pot. I sat down and listened to the conversations going on around me, trying to pick up on any gripes or problems that I could pass on to Barry in case it was necessary. Although I heard the normal gripes and bitches, I didn't hear a thing other than normal conversations from the men sitting around me. Zeke joined me and we both sat in silence, sipping the coffee we both needed to wake up. Shelly came over and set two plates in front of us with silverware. I looked around and noticed that all the older kids were doing the serving and they seemed to be doing a good job; kidding with the men as they served them breakfast. I wasn't a big breakfast eater, but the eggs, fried potatoes and toast seemed to hit the spot. It didn't take me long to gobble them down and as I got up to get more coffee, Shelly asked me if I wanted more food. When I said no, she gave me a dirty look as if she thought I didn't like the food or something. I slurped the sip of coffee left in my cup and she got to giggling at me and almost dropped the plate. "Pops, if I did that Mom would smack me!" "Well, I am happy you're not your mother 'cause I am too old and decrepit to be smacked. Besides, it might break something if that happened. Remember, I am a senior citizen!" Well that really set her to laughing, and I listened to her all the way out of the room after I refilled my coffee cup. When I got back to the table, Zeke was grinning at our little conversation. "You know she really cares a lot for you. For some reason she took to you right away." "I think it's because I don't treat her like a child like a lot of the other adults do. Besides, I promised her some rattler meat if we ever clean that cave out." I thought he was going to snort coffee out his nose after I made that comment. He was coughing and gasping and trying to laugh all at the same time. I took a small sip of the hot coffee while I waited for him to get himself back under control. When he did, I got a dirty look and then that grin of his. "Well, that explains it then, that girl loves rattler meat and her brother is almost as bad. Those two have shot more of them than anybody I know. Have you ever eaten any of her mom's cooked rattler? I can see you haven't and you are in for a treat when you do. I don't know what spices she puts in it, but it tastes better than any chicken I have ever eaten. Now, not to change the subject, but I got a couple of messages for you from McGuire and Kittrick. First McGuire says that bunch from Steins looks like they are getting ready to move out again. They are planning on stopping them before they go much further so he is sending the small chopper at eight to pick you up to go along. Thom, I think I know a place we can send them to that has water and shelter as well as wild goats and some stray cattle they can use for meat. There is an old ghost town over by Granite Peak that has been almost completely restored. There is only one way in and out of it and it could be easily guarded against attacks. The fella that owned it passed and it was never completely finished. It has a large stock tank and a good windmill as well as several small springs in the lower canyon that produce year around. Hell, I think they would be safer there than running around the desert looking for someplace to settle into. Do you know the place?" "Yeah, as a matter of fact I do because I checked in to buying it, but the price was way out of my league and finances. I did drive in there and had a good look around. The old owner had almost all the buildings done and painted. I think he was planning on leasing it to movie companies to shoot westerns. Yeah, that would work if we can get them to turn back and go there. I don't know for sure where they are at now, but it can't be more than twenty miles to it from any direction. Hell, Zeke I never even thought about it 'till you just mentioned it. If they settled there, the army could help them out if we knew for sure there weren't any infected among them." "If they are at the old Haney ranch then they are about fifteen miles from it. I think it would be a safe place to send them since they have kids and a couple of babies in the RVs. Kittrick said to tell you the dune buggy you asked for would be here later today. He said he is also going to send one of the snipers to go with you to help you scout around. He said the extra set of eyes would help him and McGuire out and save some fuel by not using the choppers so much for scouting. As a matter of fact, he said thanks for the idea as he will be sending several of them out to patrol in the outer areas where it too rugged for the humvees to go. According to what he said, the buggies are easy on gas and they come equipped with several extras you will like." "I do know a bit about some of the extras, but from what I remember, they have vastly improved them to the point that they are almost a four wheeled battle wagon. This ought to be interesting. Zeke, I will try my best to get those people to turn around. I don't want to see then wiped out by the gunships like the last bunch. Although the last bunch fired on the choppers, I think these people are just trying to find someplace safe for the women and children. That ghost town would be perfect for them to hide in and be safe till this thing quits spreading. Has the radio operator heard anything from my friend yet? He should be calling in at any time." "Not that I know about. We been monitoring the radios twenty four hours and writing down any important information that we can pass on to others out there listening. They all know to listen for him and will let you know as soon as they do. Now let's go have a smoke before your ride gets here, shall we?" ------- Chapter 18 We went outside where I packed and lit my pipe as we stood looking out over the flats by the port of entry. It seemed strange not to see the eighteen wheelers coming out like they did before all of this started. I hadn't seen BK since last night and wondered if he was staying at the school or going back and forth to my place every day. Someone had put out a long bench with a couple of buckets of sand at each end for the smokers, and Zeke was sitting on the bench with his legs stretched out, smoking and sipping his coffee. "Zeke, how long do you think it will be before this thing stops spreading? We are holed up here and pretty safe, but when it all dies down, you do know we will have to start cleaning up and getting rid of those Zombies as the kids are calling them. I have a feeling that is gonna take some time to do." "Thom, I don't know how to answer that. From what the other hams have said, the bigger cities are pretty much done with as far as living people are concerned. There are many small pockets of survivors, but if I had to guess I would say that the states have had a ninety percent infection rate. I think our area will take about six months to clear if we go all the way to Tucson. Safford will be the hardest because of the prisons; if they don't follow your suggestions. We heard from the CDC in Atlanta last night. They have captured six of them and are doing tests on them to see what will kill them naturally. They are also trying to find out how they react and think, if they even do so, after they re animate. I do know that the spread of this so called virus is still going strong in other more populous countries. It seems like, from what we can find out, the more people the more they become infected. Here in the states it seems to be dying down, but we probably should stay buttoned up for at least ninety days or so before we let people go back to their homes and ranches. That will probably be the Army's call. You and Barry have done a helluva job here and about everyone I have talked to has nothing but praise for you and him. Well, here comes your ride!" I had heard the small chopper coming, but I was listening to Zeke and had tuned the sound out. I watched as the small Border Patrol chopper came in and landed in the lot by the bus parking. I had put my pipe away and started towards the chopper when Shelly came running out with my rifle and vest with extra magazines for it. "Don't forget this, Pops. You need to make sure you can protect yourself out there." I grinned at her as I slid the vest on and took the AK from her. I trotted to the chopper and climbed in, fastened the belt, and accepted the head set from the pilot. "I take it you're my passenger?" "Well if I ain't, you will probably get fired for picking up an unauthorized passenger." I got a grin and we shot straight up in the air to about five hundred feet. I grinned at him and said; "If you are trying to scare me you can forget it. I probably have more time in these things than you do." That seemed to startle him as I got a quick look before he tilted the collective forward. I finished putting on the head set so we could talk without yelling. "Now, if you are through with the macho bullshit, do you wanna fill me in on what's going on?" "Sorry about that, Sir. I was trying to get a feel for how you would react because with the winds today. We are going to be thrown around a little and I don't want to fly with the smell of puke in my cockpit." "Ok, but I don't think you will have that problem with me because I don't get airsick." "That's good because with the winds today, it's gonna be a rough ride. Now, as to what's going on, that bunch of RVs was getting ready to move out according to the observer watching them. I flew over the area ahead of them this morning early and saw that they will have to stop at a small canyon and figure out how to cross it before they can go any further south. That's where we will land and let you make contact with them. If at all possible, tell them to turn around. Colonel Kittrick said that they weren't to go any farther nor would they be allowed to get near Portal. He has two attack choppers coming our way to put on a show of force, but we all are hoping they will listen to reason. According to the observer, they have twenty small children and several babies. I hope to God we don't have to use force like we did with that other bunch." "Well, I think I have that problem solved if I can talk to them. Do you know where that old ghost town is over by Granite Peaks?" "I sure do! As a matter of fact I flew over it this morning and wondered why no one had moved into it. It's so well protected. Hell, there are all kinds of wildlife and water there and the buildings look like they have all been rebuilt. If you are planning on sending them there, it's only about fifteen miles from where we will stop them today. Man, if they will go, it would be a perfect place for them to hunker down 'till it's safe to move around again. I am sure the Colonel will send them some basic supplies to help out." "Well, that's the idea that I will present when I talk to them. Like you, I don't want to use force either, but you know the orders the same as I do. I think it's probably a bunch of families from different RV parks that have banded together for safety. I very much doubt if any of them have been sick because they fled before any of them could be infected. We will see when I talk to them how cooperative they are." We didn't talk much as we flew to the area the RVs were in. When we spotted them, a plan came to mind almost immediately. I hoped I could use it to persuade them to go where I wanted them to, hopefully without using the attack choppers to stop them. I discussed it with the pilot and he agreed with me almost immediately. I got it all set up and we landed on a small knoll across the canyon in front of them where they could see us land. I noticed the lead RV immediately came in our direction and stopped at the canyon. I got one hell of a shock when I saw who climbed out of it. ------- Chapter 19 I walked to the edge of the canyon and waited for him to get to me. He looked like death warmed over. He had lost at least twenty pounds and had dark circles under his eyes that almost made it look like both of them were black from a fight or something. "Hey Mike, what are you doing out here in the middle of the desert?" "Thom, man it's good to see you. I wondered how you made out and if you got sick. Why are you flying around in a Border Patrol chopper?" I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining it all to him and then I told him why I was there. When I did, I just felt bad because he seemed to completely deflate as if he had lost all hope. "Thom, where the hell can we all go to be safe from this? I lost all of my family except the baby and I am out of options. I figured we could go to Portal or maybe some small town close to it where we could be safe. Hell, Lordsburg is completely overrun with those things because of all the truck drivers that got stranded there when they shut down the interstates. I started out with fifteen RVs and most were close friends that were trying to get out too. Then when we got sent back to Steins, we were joined by all these other people who came from all over the place with the same idea. We have kids and we are low on fuel and food. It took us two days to get water out of the well back there at that old ranch we found. The well at Steins went dry the second day we got there. I knew we weren't supposed to be moving around but what else could I do? These people put me in charge and I have been racking my brain, trying to find someplace safe where we could try to take care of ourselves and resupply. The adults have been giving most of our share of food to the kids so they can eat, and we have several small babies that are hungry because we have no milk or formula for them. The mothers can't breast feed because they are also drying up from lack of food and water. We all need to shower and rest someplace where we can be safe for awhile until we can regroup and come up with some idea of what to do." I knew Mike always cared about the people in Lordsburg, but I never realized he was so compassionate. It made me sad that he had lost his own family. I had eaten several meals at his house and just the memories made me feel bad too. Now he was trying to protect strangers and he was worrying himself into an early grave trying to do it. He had been a Captain with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department and had retired after twenty years this past year to spend more time with his family. Now he had lost all of them because of this sickness and once again he was protecting people he didn't even know before this had happened. I was going to help him all I could, even if I lost some of my so called pull with the Army doing it. "Mike, how are you set on weapons and ammo? Do you have enough to put up a fight if it's needed?" "Yeah, I raided the armory at the Police Station and the Sheriff's Department before we pulled out. I have armed most of the remaining men with me and we are in good shape there. What we need is food for the kids and formula for the babies. We have been lucky and have had no sickness except some cases of colic among the babies because of what we been trying to feed them. Thom, is there any way at all you can help us?" I looked at all the people who had come up to listen to us and I could see they were about at the end of their ropes. They all looked worn out and half starved. I counted twenty men from I would guess fifteen to forty, and most of them were in the older bracket. My count of the women doubled that and I counted twelve holding small babies. "Mike, I think I have the solution to your problems if you all will listen to me. You can't go any further and there are two attack helicopters sitting over the ridge that will stop you if necessary. This is by order of Colonel Kittrick of the U. S. Army and not me, my friend. I do have another option though that will help all of you. Do you know the old ghost town over by Granite Peak?" "I knew there was one there but I never saw it. Why?" I went on, raising my voice so everyone could hear me as I explained what I was trying to do. When I finished, I saw a little hope on the women's faces and they all were looking at Mike. I also went on to tell them about the wild goats and the cattle in the lower areas that they could butcher for food, as well as capturing some of the goats for milk for the babies. When I said that, I could see, as far as the women were concerned, it was a done deal. I could see the relief in Mike's face when I finished the story. When I told the final part about the water and windmill tank they could use for bathing and washing clothes, he was nodding his head. "Thom, I won't even question it, just please lead us to it. From looking at the faces around me I think you have convinced us to go there. If it is as easily defended as you say, we should be in excellent shape, if we have any problems with raiders like they did in Rodeo." He explained about the raiders and the chopper pilot was on the radio, relaying everything he was telling me. I knew there was a strong Border Patrol presence in that area, and I was surprised they didn't know about them. Well, I thought, they would now. "Mike, I promise you I will personally see that you get a load of food and formula for the babies. If you need anything else, I will do everything in my power to see if I can get it for you. There is only one way in and out of that place and you will be able to easily guard it. I will say you better have the older kids kill any rattlers you find so you can eat them until I can get a shipment of basic supplies to you. Also, remember there are cattle and wild goats you can use for food. The lower canyon has two springs and the town has a windmill as well as a walled in spring that feeds water to all the buildings. Oh, and before I forget, almost all of the buildings have been rebuilt and painted. There will be room for almost everyone so you won't have to stay in the RVs." The smile and relief on all their faces made this whole thing worthwhile as I gave him directions on how to get there. As I spoke, I saw one of the men writing down everything I was saying in a small notebook. "Thom, I think I speak for all of us when I say thanks. If you can do half of what you say we will be happy. Now, what you haven't said is how far it is from here to get there." I could see some of the old Mike I remembered come back as he talked. "Mike, you are about fifteen or sixteen miles from the entrance right now, and as far as I know it is good going all the way to the road into the place. Now you might have to do a little bit of cleanup as you go though the gap that leads into the valley, but it shouldn't be any problem for you. I suggest as you go through the gate you fasten it behind you and try to have some of the older kids use some brush to wipe out your tracks. I will overfly your convoy and lead you to the entrance. You should be there and getting settled in a couple of hours." I watched as smiles broke out on the people around him and they all turned almost at once and headed to the vehicles. I pointed out the peak and where the gate was to go in. Mike thanked me again and got up and headed to the RV he had driven. I watched as they all followed him and headed back the way they had come. I walked back to the chopper and the pilot was smiling at me as I climbed in. "Sir, from what the attack chopper pilots had to say when I told them to return to base, I think they were as happy as your friend there. Colonel Kittrick was monitoring and said he would have a shipment of food ready to go when you gave the word. He said he wasn't sure about baby formula, but would check and see what they had on hand. He did say they had plenty of jars of baby food and would send several cases with the other supplies. Oh, and I was ordered to overfly Lordsburg to take a closer view of the town to see how many of those things were walking about. He said if we could clean it out, we would have plenty of fuel to distribute because of all the truck stops there." "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go!" ------- Chapter 20 We took off and flew over the convoy and I was surprised at how little dust there was. I saw Mike's arm come out and wave as we flew over his RV. I counted over seventy vehicles and to say they were a ragtag looking bunch would be an understatement. There were about every kind of camping vehicle I ever saw and I used to do a lot of camping with my daughter when I was younger. I had the pilot take us up a lot higher than we were and I used his binoculars to look over the countryside as we flew. He flew over the ghost town and I looked through the glasses. It looked like an oasis in the middle of nowhere with all the green trees, and the lower valley looked like it was full of cattle and goats. To my surprise, I saw a herd of mule deer grazing near the canyon wall in the lower half of the valley. We swung back around and I had him slow almost to a crawl as I scanned the buildings. Nothing was moving nor was there any sign of life, other than some cattle. They were drinking out of the trough next to the big tank by the windmill that was full of water. Man, I wished I could have bought this place, but the price they were asking had been way out of reach for my meager bank account. Now it was free to whoever could take it as I doubted there was anyone left who would claim it. The heirs lived back east and were probably gone along with everyone in the big cities, if everything the ham operators said had happened. When we lifted out of the canyon, I caught a large spiral of black smoke south of our position and directed the pilot to head that way. In a short time we were over the smoke and it was a house and barn still burning. There were maybe twenty vehicles parked by the windmill tank in front of the burning house and several were shooting towards a small building. "Raiders! Call in the position and let's see if we can give those bastards some grief." The pilot was on the radio and as we circled, I saw two of the attack choppers coming in from the south. They split up and I watched as they opened fire with some kind of electric guns on the front of the choppers. I was almost whooping for joy as those bastards got chopped to pieces. I told the pilot to pass on that I thought there were survivors in the small outbuilding and not to fire on it. We circled and I watched as the choppers circled back over the area, shooting anything that was in the yard by the windmill without ever touching the windmill or the building. They backed off and flew high cover as we went lower. All of a sudden I could hear the radio chatter between them and us. "Sorry about that, Sir. I forgot to switch you to the channel we use." I just grinned at him and as we circled, I saw a man and woman and two small kids cautiously come out of the small building and look around. They both were armed with rifles and I saw him suddenly raise his and shoot at something I couldn't see from where we were circling. He went forward with the woman staying back to cover him as he did. We waited a few minutes, watching as the rancher walked around shooting several times at what I thought were wounded raiders. I told the pilot to land several hundred yards from the small building. "You sure that's safe, Sir? I mean, any one of those raiders might be a carrier." "Yeah, well all the more reason I need to talk to that rancher to tell him what he needs to do to make sure none of them start walking again. Besides, I need to get his name and location to report it to the fort." When I climbed out, the rancher came towards me and I held up my hand and stopped him about a hundred feet away from me. When he stopped, I introduced myself and asked him what happened and if everyone was ok. "Mister, I don't much care who the hell you are, but you saved our lives just now and I appreciate it. We were about out of ammo and hope 'till you all came along. Man, those helicopters sure did a job on these bastards!" I went on to tell him more about the virus and what he would have to do to make sure that none of them came back to life. He just looked at me in shock with his mouth open before he spoke again. "Hell, we have been sniping back and forth with them for the last three days when they showed up asking for water and food. Now I don't mind sharing, but we didn't have much in the house to give them. When they tried to force their way in, I shot two of them and we closed the doors and shuttered the windows to keep them out. I figured they would leave but this morning they set fire to the barn and when we wouldn't come out of the house, they set it on fire. I sent my daughter and grandkids through the escape tunnel to the cave up in the hills the first night. My wife and kids got trapped when they surrounded the house and I couldn't get them out without them being seen. I figured we was all goners until you guys showed up to save our asses. I will be glad to shoot every one of them and then we will head to the cave in the hills. It is well stocked with everything we need to keep the ranch going 'till we get the all clear to come back down. Again thanks for the help, Marshal." I just waved at him as I climbed back into the chopper. I had kept the mic button on my walkie depressed so the pilot could hear our conversation, and as I climbed back in and buckled up, I could hear him finishing up reporting the information to his dispatcher. Watching those choppers shoot reminded me of Puff when I was in Nam. We took off with the kids waving at us as we rose. We flew back to where the convoy should be and I was glad that those raiders hadn't known about them, 'cause they would have killed all of them that they could. Mike was just going through the gate to the town when we flew back, and I saw several of the kids with clumps of brush, sweeping the tracks behind them. We dropped and I got a thumbs up from Mike, so we took off out of there, headed for Lordsburg to see what was going on there. "Sir, before we head to Lordsburg, I need to go to the fort and refuel. I doubt if I have enough to do a thorough flyover and make it back." "No problem. I need to have a chat with Kittrick anyways and I also need to find out from McGuire why the Border Patrol didn't know about those raiders. If what Mike told us was true, which I don't doubt, something is rotten in Denmark." "I agree, Sir. I been flying over Rodeo and transporting supplies there for a week and I never heard anyone say anything about raiders. That seems kinda strange to me if they raided RV parks in the town like those women said." I figured someone was going to get reamed when I made my report. I also wanted to talk with Kittrick to see what else I could get to help Mike and his people. ------- Chapter 21 I was looking forward to seeing of the fort as we headed in that direction to refuel. I had never been there and wondered what it looked like from the air. When we topped the last peak, it was in clear sight in front of us and I was surprised by how much it was spread out. From the looks of it as we got closer, everyone was busy doing something as I could see people all over the place. We landed close to the building and the pilot told me we would be about twenty minutes, and that Kittrick was waiting for me inside. When I got inside, it was air conditioned and felt great. I spotted a restroom to my right and didn't hesitate to head for it. When I got done, I washed my hands and headed out to look for Kittrick. I didn't have far to look as he was standing in front of a large window looking out across the runway where a plane was landing. "Visitors, Colonel?" "No, Marshal, it just a routine shift of supplies that are being brought to the main warehouse from one of our outlying warehouses. We have been moving everything in close where we have better control and it's easier to keep an inventory of what we have. Now I know you didn't come in here where it's nice and cool for a bullshit session, so what's on your mind?" I was ready to say something smart until I saw the grin he was trying to hide. Ok, I thought, two can play this game. I opened up on him with my thought about the Rodeo situation and why I thought that McGuire had a problem there. He didn't say anything after I finished what I was saying, but I could see he was thinking about it. "One more thing you need to know, Colonel. Several of the raiders at that ranch had Border Patrol vehicles and were wearing uniforms." "What? Shit, that's all we need, a bunch of rebel agents making our jobs harder. Damn, I will tell Dan, but I will also send in a team to see if we can spot their base and free whoever they are holding. What do you think your friend Mike needs most right now?" I told him a few ideas I had and what I thought would help them the most right now. He seemed to agree with me and said he would get a load out to them before dark. "Thom, the last report I had from several bases was that the spread of the disease here in the states seems to be dying off, but it's still going strong up north and overseas. Ramstein in Germany says there are more walking dead than people who are alive in their area, and they have lost half of the base because they are being overrun by them. They are talking about bugging out to another remote location until they can get it under control. Hell, from the reports I have been getting, we and Ft. Bragg are the only ones in good shape. We have the whole border mined now and have pulled most of the personnel back in to help here. We have regular patrols and spotters strategically placed to give us warning. Now, when you fly over Lordsburg, see if you can get some kind of count on how many there are there. Thom, we need that fuel and I understand there are boxcars full of food and supplies just sitting on the tracks there, and we can use it. If you see any of them bunched up, call in for an attack chopper and we will try to kill as many as we can to lower their numbers. How about San Simon; do you need anything?" "From what I know, we seem to be in pretty good shape right now. Everyone is helping out and we haven't had any major problems. When I get the buggy running, I plan on visiting Mike to see how they are doing and set up a radio for them so they can keep in touch. Meat wise, they have enough in the lower canyon to feed them for months if they don't eat too much. Since Mike is in charge I figure he won't let that happen. Some of the goats and cattle have young so if they can capture a few of them, they will have milk for the babies. But the formula you are sending will help out, until they can get settled in. We have several pallets of baby food and only two babies so if you need it just ask. We haven't heard from Bowie since this all started so I don't know how they are doing." "Well, from what we have been able to find out, they have withdrawn from any help, and told us to stay out and that they didn't need our help. The woman in charge up there seems to think they will be getting help from the government soon and that the Army shouldn't be in charge of them. We were told to keep our supplies; they didn't need them. Thom, I expect you will be getting some refugees from there and I hope you don't shoot them. I figure it will be relatives to some of the people in your area, trying to get back with their kinfolks. I can't tell you to take them in, but if you can we will help out with some food and clothing. I don't know for sure that's gonna happen, but my gut tells me that some of the better folks aren't going to put up with that woman who's in charge there for long. Hell, I don't like her and I never met her. Also, I liked your suggestion about what to do at the prisons. But until we know for sure there aren't any living people holed up in there, I can't make a move on it. If those things somehow break out of there, we will just have to kill them the hard way I guess. We have had overflights every other day and dropped flyers all over, but so far we haven't seen any sign of anyone alive in Safford. We could use the supplies, but it will be hard to get to them with all them things all over the place. Sooner or later we will have to start cleaning them out, but for right now, we will just try to hold what we have until this thing dies out completely. We are pretty safe, but we are going to end up fighting on two fronts if those things start migrating. The Mexican Army has moved to the deep southern part of Mexico and seems to be consolidating their hold there. We expect trouble from California when the dead start migrating. There are millions of them in California and they can't just stay in a small area like that. The CDC says they have some kind of residual memory that seems to come forward somehow. They also said that if they were tradesman like truck drivers or engineers or anything involving simple tasks, they can possibly do it. If that's so, then we may be in some trouble. Hell, Thom, everything is so new and iffy right now we don't know what the hell to think. We have been building up our defenses here and just consolidating everything where we can have total control over our supplies. We got lucky because we were the designated training area this year and we have ten times the supplies we would normally have on hand. Well, I just got the high sign that your pilot is ready to go. I will help out your friend all I can and we will find out where those raiders are based. You better go!" He shook my hand before I headed out to the chopper. I was thinking about all he had said to me. Boy, I thought, I am glad I don't have all that crap sitting on my shoulders. ------- Chapter 22 When I got back into the small chopper, the pilot immediately started winding up for takeoff. By the time I got the headset on, we were headed back out the same way we flew in. "Hey, I just realized we been flying together all morning and I haven't even asked your name." He looked at me kinda startled, then smiled before he answered me. "They call me Puddles, Marshal." I must have looked at him funny because he started laughing and then explained how he got the name. "I used to fly charters all over the east coast. Every time I landed, my passengers always seemed to step out of the chopper into the middle of a mud puddle whether it had rained or not. One of the company presidents I chartered for nicknamed me Puddles. As my bad luck reputation spread, the clients started asking for me and placed bets with each other on whether or not they would step out on dry ground or in the middle of a puddle of water. Over the few years I worked back there I think I only dropped one passenger on dry tarmac. Thus the name Puddles. It followed me out here when I hired on with the Border Patrol and has stuck with me all this time. Of course I don't have that problem out here in the desert." I grinned at him as he chuckled at the look that must have been on my face. I didn't say anything else, just picked up the binoculars and started scanning to the side of where I was sitting, thinking about what Kittrick had told me about Safford and the woman who was leading the small population at Bowie. I didn't know what to do about her but I still thought we should napalm the prisons at Safford, just to be on the safe side. If we didn't strike before those things got out of the barbed wire enclosures, I had a gut feeling we would be asking for trouble. I was also wondering how much residual memory these things had and what they could remember about what they used to do. "Marshal, I am going to come in over the truck stops and hover above each one. I want to try to get an idea of how many of them are wandering around. I think if I get low enough the noise should draw them out, if what we have been told is true. We should be approaching the first one in a few minutes. We saved a lot of fuel on the trip because we have a strong tail wind pushing us. I have to admit I don't like this idea, because I don't know what the reactions of these things will be, other than they are supposed to be attracted to loud noises." "Well, just make sure you stay high enough that one of them can't jump up and hang off of the landing strut. I would hate to have to hang out the door and try to kick one off. I am too old for that crap." We grinned at each other before he motioned towards the front. I looked out and we were just coming up on the first of three truck stops in the area. We flew in a slow circle around the parking area and didn't see anything, but several hundred trucks were parked anywhere there was room to pull in. I saw one, then two more looking up at us. Puddles moved to the front lot where it was fairly clear. We couldn't see any overhead wires and hovered about seventy five feet above the lot. I took the binoculars and looked inside through the windows and noticed that the main side doors were open. I didn't see any movement inside but all the lights were still on, and the inside, or what I could see of it, looked in order. By this time we counted six and then the seventh thing coming towards the chopper. I was surprised that they did not fit the so called zombie descriptions I had read about. Other than being dirty, they didn't seem to be stumbling or walking funny. To me it seemed as if they walked fine and were aware of us hovering above them. "Hold this thing steady. I am going to shoot the ones below us." I just got a nod as I opened the door. I hung on to the harness and leaned out, pulling my pistol. I missed on the first shot. I forgot to adjust for the downdraft and it was throwing my aim off. After that I was just pretending in my head I was shooting at targets. Of course the splatter from the head shots made me a little nauseous, but the chopper downdraft blew it downwards. After I shot the last one I sat back in the seat, changing mags and plugging the headset back in. "I don't see any more of them, do you?" "No, and that is kinda weird from what we were told. They were supposed to be wandering all over the place." "Ok, here is what we are going to do. Swing out to where we get a view down the road towards town. Then come back to where we were and hover for a few minutes. If we don't see any more then drop down and let me out. If for some reason we get separated, I will meet you on that overpass to the right and you can pick me back up." "WHAT, are you nuts?" "No but that store is standing wide open and is full of supplies. I need to clear it and chain the doors closed so it doesn't get ransacked until the Army moves in. What's in there and in the storerooms will help with supplies. I also want to hit the emergency shut down on the pumps in case of fire. We need that fuel probably worse than the supplies. All the trucks sitting around here and none of those things wandering around tells me they have moved elsewhere and we need to shut off their backdoor and hiding places. That store is a good place to start. Besides, I need a cold Coke." Well, needless to say, I was told what I could do with my cold Coke, which was impossible to do for an old man like me. I was also told that if I got ate he would never speak to me again. I plugged the mic and earbud into the walkie and we set the channels. When we swung out over the main road, I looked all over with the binoculars and didn't see a thing moving, either down the road or among the trucks sitting all over the place. We swung back to the open area and hovered for a little over five minutes without drawing any more of those things out of hiding. I grabbed the AK and motioned for him to set down. He just shook his head and we dropped to the pavement. I got out, closing the door as he seemed to jump back in the air, leaving me alone in the lot. I racked a round into the AK and set it on single shot and started towards the store. As I moved, looking all around me, I seemed to shift back to a mindset I hadn't felt since I was in Nam all those years ago. I seemed to start to feel the area and my senses were getting sharper as I moved. ------- Chapter 23 I had just cleared the area near where I had shot the others when I heard the crunch of gravel to my rear and right. I swung around in that direction and saw a woman come around the side of the small tourist store. She saw me and I almost froze in place, watching how fast she moved towards me. I aimed and shot her in the head, noticing the dried blood all over the front of the blouse she had on. Damn, I thought, those things are fast. No wonder we were warned about them hunting anything alive. I had just dropped the muzzle towards the ground when a man came around the same building with blood all over his front too. I didn't hesitate this time, but dropped him as soon as I got the sight centered on his head. I waited a few minutes to see if any more were going to show up, but I didn't see or hear anything. I moved on towards the gas pumps, staying out of sight of the open doors facing the pumps. I waited a few minutes before moving towards the doors. There was a small RV sitting next to the entrance and as I passed it, I heard a thump. I froze in place while looking around, trying to see if I missed one of those things, and if one was hiding behind the camper. I didn't hear anything else so I slowly moved around the front of it. I slung the AK and pulled my pistol, sliding the safety into the fire position. I quickly peeked around the front and it was clear. For some reason I looked up towards the front window of the camper and got the shit scared out of me. There was a little face pressed up against the front glass staring at me. I almost had a heart attack as she waved at me. I made the universal sign of silence by putting my finger across my lips and she nodded at me, moving back away from the glass. I motioned for her to stay down as I moved towards the doors. I went through the first set and flattened against the wall, looking into the store area. It was clear so I moved inside, putting my back against the counter looking around the rest of the store. I could see three of those things, all bent down, eating from what looked to be two badly mangled bodies. From what I could see, there wasn't much left of either one of them. I figured they were the little girl's parents. I got ready and made a whistling noise. They all three looked up and started to move towards me. I waited, delaying my shots to make sure I dropped them close to the door. I dropped all three within a few feet of where I was standing and breathed a sigh of relief when the last one went down. I waited, listening with ringing ears to see if any more were going to show up. When nothing happened, I moved across the store, looking down the aisles to make sure that was all of them. It was and after I checked out the restrooms, I grabbed a couple of tarps off the shelf. I covered the bodies; wrapping them so I could move them outside where they wouldn't pollute the store as they rotted. After I finished wrapping them, I dragged all of them outside and then went back in and washed my hands at the sink by the coffee pots. I shut those down and then popped the cover off the air conditioning control, turning it down to 40 degrees. I went to the store side and grabbed a short length of chain and a pad lock. As I went out, I got three large Cokes then closed the inner doors and chained the outer doors. I put the lock on them and pushed the emergency shut off button for the pumps. I looked around carefully before I moved to the camper and knocked on the door. "Sweetie you can come out now, it's safe." "Are you sure those things out there are gone?" "Well, I don't see any more of them." "I think they got my mommy and daddy. They went inside to get some food and water and never came out. I heard mommy scream and then nothing. Mister, are you sure you're not one of them?" "Well, I don't think they can talk and if you were looking out the window, I am sure you saw the helicopter I got out of." I knew I was wasting valuable time, but I wasn't about to leave her here all by herself. I heard the door lock click and then the side door opened slowly. She looked to be about five or six years old and had long black hair. She was wearing a blue snap up western shirt and a pair of Wranglers with a matching vest. She was a tiny little thing and as cute as a button. "We have to go now, so if you have a backpack you better pack what you want to take with you. We won't be coming back anytime soon. I am sorry about your mom and dad." I watched as tears ran down her cheeks and I wondered what she was thinking as I watched her put things into a small pack. If they had arrived like she said, I figured they weren't carriers but survivors like Mike and his group. The helicopter was a two seater and it was going to be crowded with her sharing a seat with me. I could put up with it though to get her out of here. I just couldn't figure out where all those things had gone. There should have been hundreds of them with all the abandoned trucks sitting around here. While I was waiting, I wrote "Do not destroy this RV" with a magic marker on the door and signed my name. I knew there had to be some sort of papers that I could use to try and find her relatives, if they were still were alive. She came out with her backpack on, carrying a small teddy bear with tears still running down her face. I could feel her sadness as she closed the door to the camper and took my left hand. As we headed across the lot, I was looking everywhere for any movement. There was no sign of any more of those things so I called Puddles and told him to pick us up. Well, at the word "us", he started sounding like my ex-wife with all the questions until he got close and saw the small figure by my side. He was fiddling with something behind him as he sat down and we got in. I lifted her up and he helped her take the pack off. Then he got her seated in a small fold down seat between ours, and fastened a small belt around her waist. I got the door closed and the headset on while he fiddled with the knobs and put the radio on speaker so the little girl wouldn't feel left out of the conversation. It was quiet enough inside so that we could talk to her without the mics, but we needed to hear any incoming calls through the ear pad. We were monitoring the base channel I guessed 'cause I could hear the base talking to other choppers in the background. "Hi young lady, my name is Puddles. What's yours?" "My name is Sarah Lighthorse, and why do you have a name like Puddles?" "Well, when I lived back east I kept landing this thing in Puddles of water so I ended up with that nickname. This old grouch sitting next to me is named Thom and I bet he never even introduced himself, did he?" "No, but he saved me so he is excused this time." Well that shut him up, and I winked at her as we flew towards the next truck stop. I got a small smile in return and I handed her a Coke and gave one to Puddles. I took a drink from mine, wondering why all those things had disappeared from the truck stop. "Oh, and I have a message to pass on from Kittrick. He said if you ever pulled a damn fool stunt like that again he would put you in a padded room." I gave him a dirty look but he just grinned before saying that Kittrick had radioed and asked to speak to me. When he had reported I was on the ground, the radio about shorted out from the explosion from the base's end. Kittrick had threatened to have me locked up if I ever pulled a stunt like that again without asking for an ok from his end. I leaned back, grinning to myself, wondering if he would really try. ------- Chapter 24 We were going over the center part of town, not seeing any movement when little Sarah spoke up. "I think I know why they all left the truck stop where we were." I turned around in my seat and looked at her before I spoke; "Honey, if you have any ideas we would sure like to hear them." "Well, when we drove in this morning, we sat on the top of the bridge, watching the truck stop for a couple of hours before my daddy decided it was safe. About the time the sun came up, we started hearing a train whistle going off. After a little while of hearing it, hundreds of those things started down the road like they were trying to find out where it was coming from. They came from everywhere it seemed like. The road was full of them and they were all headed in the direction where we are going now. Daddy thought it would be safe after they all left, so we drove down to get some water and food. We didn't see any of them outside so Daddy and Mommy ran into the store. Well I told you what I heard, and they didn't come back. I stayed hidden in the camper until you showed up and took me with you. I won't see Mommy and Daddy again, will I?" I was at a loss for a moment but inside I knew I had to tell her the truth. "No, Sarah, they didn't make it. But you are safe now and I won't let anything happen to you. Where did you and your mom and dad come from, before you got here?" "We lived in Deming until everyone started getting sick. Thom, what are those things and why did they kill my mom and dad?" I looked at Puddles and he just shrugged and at me. I looked back at Sarah and decided to tell her everything I knew about it. I did, and she listened to me go through the whole story before she spoke again. "Mom and Dad and I used to watch that TV show about zombies and Daddy always said something like that couldn't happen, but I guess it did. If they aren't like us, I hope all of them die and I get to see it." She unfastened her seat belt and climbed in my lap, crying against my shoulder. I looked over at Puddles and he just gave me a sad smile before he pointed below us. We were coming up on a pair of truck stops and from where we were at about five hundred feet, I could see what looked like thousands of eighteen wheelers. They were parked everywhere I looked. It looked like a large parking lot at some huge trucking company. If every truck had just one driver, there had to be thousands of those things wandering around from the two truck stops. When we got over the first truck stop I only saw just a few of them and as we went lower they didn't increase in numbers. The ones that were here were looking up at us and even from as high as we were, I could see the blank look in their eyes. They were just like the ones I had already disposed of. We hovered about a hundred feet up for at least five minutes but we didn't see any more of them come out. I pointed to the other truck stop and we did the same routine with the same results. I could hear Puddles reporting to base what we were seeing and I heard someone tell him to circle around and try to find out where they all had gone. Then it hit me. I remembered what Sarah had said earlier. "Fly over to the train yards to the south of here. Sarah said she kept hearing a train whistle blowing. Maybe they all went to see what was happening there. Go up to about three hundred feet so we have a good view of the train yards." Sarah had twisted in my lap so she could see out the front. Just as we topped the last building and the train yards came into sight, I heard a quick indrawn gasp from her. Within a few seconds I heard Puddles say; "Holy Shit, will you look at that!" The question of where they all were was answered. There were thousands of them on either side of a train engine and I could see it was running from the black smoke coming out of it. There were two or three flatcars behind the engine and there were wall to wall zombies on them, seemingly waiting for the train to move. Others were trying to get on and it almost seemed like the ones already on them were pushing off the ones trying to get on. Before I could tell Puddles to call in the gunships, he was already reporting what we were seeing and asking for help from the fort. One of those things had to have been an engineer because one engine was running. If they got the train moving, there would be no safe towns anywhere along the tracks 'cause they would be able to move at will. "Puddles, get me through to Kittrick; I need to speak to him now." I waited for what seemed like hours but was only minutes before he came on the radio. "This is Colonel Kittrick, what can I do for you Marshal?" "Now I want you to listen to me and don't interrupt me with a lot of questions before I am finished talking. We don't have a lot of time and you are going to have to act immediately on the information I am about to tell you." "Ok, go ahead." "What you were told about residual memory is true, I repeat, it is true. The ones here have a train running and are loading up to move. You are going to have to send out as many gunships with missiles as you can and take out as many sections of track as you can between all towns from here to California. If these things can move by rail, every town between us and California doesn't stand a chance. Kittrick, if you don't do this ASAP then everything we have been doing will be a waste of time and manpower. There are thousands of them here. I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg compared to how many are in California. We have to stop this before they can start migrating or we will lose every small town between here and there, 'cause the tracks run through every town. Before you ask, we can replace sections of track later on to move the trains and supplies, but for now we need to stop them from moving. Kittrick, if you don't do this you might as well shut down and go into hiding because from what I am seeing, just these things here in Lordsburg out number all of the living in every town." There was total silence on the line for a few minutes before Kittrick came back on. "Marshal, are you sure of what you are saying?" "One hundred percent sure, Colonel. I am looking at a few thousand loading up on a train as we speak. There are probably millions in California and all it takes is just one of them who knows how to run an engine to start this way with them. We wouldn't stand a chance if that happened." "Ok, I will get the choppers armed and we will go from there. Three gunships are coming your way so let Puddles guide them in. We will speak more about this later on. We will start at Lordsburg and blow out sections of track going west. Ask Puddles if he has the cameras operating on his ship, and if so, I want lots of pictures." "Colonel, they are and I have been running them ever since we got to the first truck stop. If it means anything, I agree with Thom on this one. I think we should cover our asses any way we can. These things are not only fast but seem to be smart as hell for being dead, if they really are. I think there is a lot more we need to learn about them before we end up getting overrun by them." "We will talk more when you come in and I get a chance to look at the film. Kittrick out." "Puddles, I want that lead engine wiped out completely. It stands to reason that if one of them knows how to start a train engine then there have to be more of them inside helping him. The engineers usually run in pairs if I remember correctly, so let's get them both on the first pass of the gunships." I didn't get to say anymore because the gunships were calling Puddles for instructions. I didn't get to hear his conversation with them 'cause Sarah pulled the headphones off my ears. "Thom, what is going to happen to me? Mom and Dad were orphans and I don't want to go to an orphanage like they had to do." She was leaning back, looking me directly in the eyes and I could see hope as well as concern there. I looked into her eyes a couple of minutes before I answered her. "Well, you can stay with me if you think you can put up with me. I have to tell you though I am an old man and grouchy." "I would like that, I think, but you have to remember I am only five and a half and still learning how to be a good girl." I muttered, I thought under my breath, "Yeah, five and talks like she is an English teacher." She buried her head against my chest and her shoulders were shaking. I thought she was crying until I realized she was giggling up a storm, because she had heard what I muttered. Oh boy, I thought, what had my big mouth let me in for this time! ------- Chapter 25 "Thom, I think you better get Sarah back in her seat and strapped in." I looked at him, raising an eyebrow as I did, and he flicked his eyes towards the front. It took me a couple of minutes before I realized what he was trying to tell me. "Let's get you strapped back in, Sarah, the wind is picking up and it's gonna be a little rough up here for awhile until we get back to where I live." "We're not gonna crash, are we?" she asked. "I don't think so, but we could be jerked around a little if the wind picks up some more. I want you in your seat with the belt on so you don't get all skinned up." "Ok." I got her into her seat and pulled the belt tight. I slipped my headphones back on; leaving one ear clear on Sarah's side so I could hear her if she asked me any questions. Puddles changed a couple of settings on the radio and I could hear the incoming chopper traffic. I watched as the trailing chopper blew two sections out of the tracks on both sides of the rails before he caught up to the other two choppers. I watched as the two outside choppers dropped to about head height and the trailing one lifted up so his nose was pointing towards the train engine. I didn't hear any order to fire, but they all seemed to open up at the same time. I can't begin to describe what I saw, but needless to say it looked like a butcher shop on both sides of the train. The center chopper literally blew the cabin section of the engine apart before rising up and opening fire on the flatcars. God, I thought, I am glad they aren't shooting at me. The whole area looked like a butcher shop that had exploded. There were pieces of those things everywhere you looked. What I thought was really weird was that some of them were actually running towards the choppers like they were trying to catch them when they dropped. Maybe what we heard was true that they were attracted by noises. From my own observations, I would have to say they were. I did notice that none of them tried to run or hide. When the choppers stopped firing and just hovered, more of them seemed to show up at the sides of the train. They ran towards the choppers where they were hovering and waiting. I watched enthralled as the choppers just waited untill those things were almost to them before they opened fire again. This time they didn't fire as long, but other than some pieces crawling around I didn't see anymore coming out. What I thought was particularly gruesome, was that the ones that hadn't been hit in the head were still crawling toward the choppers, whether they had one arm, half a body, or other main body parts missing. I was watching one in particular, pointing towards him, letting Puddles turn the chopper so the cameras could catch it. Since he was on clear ground at the side away from the rest, I could clearly see that there was no blood trail behind him. I knew he should have been dead, but his insides were trailing behind him as he crawled slowly towards the hovering choppers. He left parts of his insides behind him as he crawled. It gave me the creeps and I hoped we got good pictures for Puddles to take back to the fort. "Have them circle and see if there are anymore around the trains before they go back to the fort." Puddles tore his eyes away from the one we were watching and gave the order. I noticed he kinda shivered as he did, and I had to smile to myself at his reaction. "Also, while I am thinking about it, have one of them fly up the tracks a few miles and blow sections out of the two sides coming into Lordsburg. That way none can come in from the east. Let's do one more wide circle around the area and then you can take Sarah and me home. I think I have seen enough to give me nightmares for months." "Yeah, me to!" "In spades, Thom." We did the fly around but other than a few of them wandering by themselves, I didn't count more than thirty or so. I knew the troops would be able to handle those with no problems. Lordsburg was now ready for us to take it back. I knew also that the hundreds of trucks sitting all over the place were full of supplies we would be able to use. The flight back to San Simon was short and quiet, and I spent the time thinking about what we would have to do in the future to combat these things. I knew the toughest nut to crack would be Safford with its prisons. We would lose people and I knew it. Hopefully I wouldn't have to be part of it, because it would be sometime yet before we started moving in that direction. I hadn't realized we were getting ready to land until Sarah spoke up. "You live in a school?" I looked out the front, then back at her and my weird sense of humor kicked in as I said, "Yep, and you are the new English teacher!" I watched her, grinning as her eyes got big. As we set down, she was looking everywhere. Before she could say anything, Puddles had to get in his two cents worth. "Yep, and don't quit your day job old man." I started to give him the bird but caught myself. I had the AK and her pack on one arm, and was holding her in the other one. She was giggling up a storm when Puddles took off, leaving us standing in the cloud of dust. Of course the first one out the door of the school was Shelly, but she stopped so fast she almost fell on her face. I looked at her standing there with her mouth open, and started laughing at the look on her face as I walked towards her. "This is Sarah, and since she followed me home I decided to keep her for a pet. Sarah, this is Shelly and she is our town flycatcher. See how wide her mouth opens?" Well, after I got that out, Shelly was glaring holes in me and Sarah was giggling up a storm again. I could feel Shelly glaring holes in my back as I walked by her and went inside. I ran into Zeke and his eyebrows shot up to the top of his head when he saw the little girl I was holding. Byron came over and I handed him the AK. "You need to clear it and tear it down and do something with the slide, 'cause that thing is stiff as hell. I had to smack it on the first shot to get it to feed. You might want to do a quick check on them all before we need them so they don't jam on us." As per his normal way, Byron just nodded and cleared the weapon, catching the unfired round as it came out. He headed for the armory, working the slide as he walked. He had an intense look on his face as he fiddled with it. I didn't say anything to Zeke, just headed to my office. When I got in I set Sarah and her pack down. "This is where I sleep when I am here. There is a shower and a bathroom through that door. I sleep on that couch and I will see about getting something for you to sleep on. I don't know about you, but I need coffee and some food." "I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday, so can I have some food too?" "Sarah, as long as I am alive, you will never have to go hungry, even if I have to cook it myself and I am a good cook. Let's go eat and see if the flycatcher has gotten over her shock of seeing you yet. You do know you will end up having to tell how you came to be with me. Don't let it bother you, 'cause you are now part of my family and I won't let anyone hurt you." "They will get used to me; I am the new English teacher!" I growled in my throat and she was giggling at me as we walked out the door. Since I went first, I was the one who ran into Shelly, almost knocking her over. "Hey, watch where you're going Pops! Mom said to tell you that she has sandwiches ready for you and Sarah. Zeke needs to talk to you and Dad said he needs to talk to you too when you have a few minutes. Oh, and that guy who came with your dune buggy said he needs to talk to you to. I need to talk to Sarah so you go ahead; we will be fine." "Shelly, she hasn't eaten since yesterday so I want her fed. She is mine and you can't have her!" "What! Yesterday! Yours! Hey she's not a dog!" I was chuckling out loud as I headed for the coffee pot I could see on the table. I could hear Sarah still giggling at us as I walked away. ------- Chapter 26 I made it to the coffee pot and grabbed a cup, sitting down with a sigh. I watched as Shelly took Sarah back to the kitchen to get her some food. I sat back, thinking about everything that had happened and what I had seen. I barely got into my thoughts when Zeke came over, sitting down across from me with a quizzical look on his face. I knew that he was wondering about Sarah. "Ok, Zeke, spit it out before you have a gas attack." "Well, we heard from your friend, and he will be getting back on the air later this evening. Where did you find the little girl at?" I sat back sipping my coffee, just looking at him before I started explaining. I talked for a couple of minutes and noticed we had been joined by Barry, Byron and another man in camos. I figured he came in with the buggy that Shelly had told me about. Sarah was sitting at another table, chatting up a storm with Shelly while eating a huge plate of sandwiches and chips with a big glass of what looked like iced tea. I got back into the story, covering everything I had seen and heard this morning. I watched their faces as I told about what happened in Lordsburg, and I noticed that the man in camos was the only one who didn't flinch at my description of the one crawling by the tracks. I almost laughed outright at the look on Byron's and Barry's faces. Zeke was just nodding his head. I finished by telling of my return here and my new nickname for Shelly, at which her dad broke out in laughter. "Zeke, what did Ben have to say and what time will he be on the radio this evening?" "Well, we set it up for eight our time. I have a portable setup you can take to Mike when you go out there tomorrow. He said they were all still safe and that he is going to start workin' his way back towards us. He will stay in touch as he does. He said that zombies can't swim and where he is at he hasn't seen anyone alive for a week. He also said something kinda strange. He said that sharks won't eat them and they swim away from them. He also said they are dumber than a box of rocks, and he is getting back in practice with his long distance rifle, whatever that means." "Zeke, he was a Marine Scout Sniper and spent time in the sandbox before he was wounded. If he is practicing on them, he is going for all head shots and by the time he gets here he will be one of the better snipers in the area, bar none. When things settle down here, I am going after his spotter and family so we will have our own professional team to protect the town." "Damn, Thom, how do you find all this crap out? You know where his spotter and family are, and not only that, you know the leader of those RVs over at Granite Peak. I think I might have underestimated your abilities a little. I know a little bit about your background, but not very much because there are no records in the files. It's like everything about you before you moved here just evaporated into thin air or something. What is in the files is so general that you sound like an overgrown choirboy. Since you took over, I have seen a side of you that I only saw in Korea among some of the old Sergeants from World War Two. Thom, who the hell are you?" "Gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself and I think I can answer a few of your questions with the Marshal's permission." I looked over at the guy in camos and my eyes automatically narrowed as I studied him. He was older than most Seals I had met previously and I wondered just how much he really knew about my background. I decided that I would see what he had to say and nodded at him to go ahead. I noticed that Byron and Zeke both were watching us. Byron, being an old friend, already knew a lot about my background. But he wouldn't say anything unless you tortured him, and probably not then. Byron was an old jarhead from the old school and didn't talk much nor give anything away unless he was told it was ok, and even then he would only beat around the subject. Before anyone started talking, Sarah came over and I scooted back, letting her sit on my lap. I could tell from the look on her face she was feeling lost and lonely, and I was the only one she knew and felt comfortable with. I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her to me as I waited for the talk to resume. "My name is Chief Petty Officer Charles Thomas, Seal Team Eight. Since most of my team is younger than I am they all call me Grandpa. Now the Marshal here is ex Special Forces 5th Group, MACV/SOG. He did three tours in Nam and was wounded in the 10th month of his third tour. When he was shipped back to the states, his Yard team disappeared. I mean the whole village just disappeared into thin air. Anything more he will have to tell you because what I know other than that is just gossip or conjecture. I do know him and his team were almost legendary over there. I was told by Colonel Kittrick that I was to act as his second when we go out scouting the areas in this quadrant." There was silence when he finished, and I wondered how much he really knew. But when I looked over at Byron, I almost busted out laughing. He had that 'I already knew that' grin on his hairy puss. Zeke and Barry just had a shocked look on their faces as they stared at the Chief. I whispered in Sarah's ear, asking her to get me some more coffee. She got down off my lap and took my mug over to the coffee pot. Watching her, I absently wondered how I was ever going to wash her long hair without it getting all tangled up. I also wondered if I still had that old hair dryer, which I knew she was going to need with all that hair. It was kind of shocking to me to be thinking about that, since I didn't have any hair to speak of and what little I did have I kept shaved. To my great surprise, I was looking forward to taking care of her. I knew when she got older she would be a beautiful woman, and with her Native American heritage she already had an advantage over most of them. I snapped out of my musings when Sarah came back and Barry started speaking to me. "Thom, there has been a lot of dust over towards Bowie. We haven't been able to tell if it's vehicles or what it is. I have the men keeping an eye on it. I thought maybe if you were planning to go out tomorrow with the dune buggy, you might swing that way and check it out. I don't know why but it worries me. It's too far out to be building or road work. Where it's coming from is out towards the hot springs area. That's miles out of Bowie and there nothing out there but a few ranches and nut groves." "I don't see any problem checking it out, Barry. I have to take a radio over to Granite Peak to Mike anyway. Me and the Chief will swing out there in the morning before we go over and meet with Mike. Barry, do you have the shade built on top of the truck stop and school for the spotters? It's starting to get hotter and I want them to be under cover during the day. You also need to put a tarp up at both blockades for shade too. We need to make sure our people are as comfortable out in the sun as we can make them. Byron, did you find out why the slide on that AK was so damned stiff?" "Yeah I did, but if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would never have believed it. Thom those AKs are all new and I don't think they have ever been fired. I should have checked them before we handed them out. I sent word to all the guards to bring them in to be looked at. I cleaned yours and polished the slide and action. Whoever cleaned them at the fort was a dummy. He or she never took the time to clean the actions; they just cleaned out the excess grease and sent them out to us. I doubt you will have any further problems with it. I also need to reload your pistol mags since you are still using your nine instead of one of the forties Kittrick sent over." I handed him the two partials I was wearing and he left to take care of them. I sat and sipped my coffee, thinking about tomorrow and Ben and his family, and wondering how long before I could arrange to go pick up Jack and his family. ------- Chapter 27 I sat at the table holding Sarah, and thinking about the conversation I had just had with the men I was close to. Sarah and I talked a little more and I learned more about her, and I truthfully answered her questions about me. She dozed off as I talked to some of the other people who came over and introduced themselves. I only heard a couple of complaints which surprised me, considering all the different personalities that had been thrown together because of all that had happened. Hell, even Daryl came over and thanked me, which really surprised me. Actually, all I was doing was holding Sarah and listening to her as she breathed, and thinking about my own daughter and wondering if she was ok. I hadn't realized so much time had passed until my stomach started growling. It woke Sarah who immediately rubbed it, giggling at all the noise it was making. "Thom, is it ok if I call you Pops like Shelly does? I kinda like the nickname since I don't feel comfortable calling you Thom." "Are you sure you're only five and a half?" This started her giggling which I immediately added to by tickling her. Of course her laughter had Shelly at our table in short order. "Is he being mean to you Sarah?" she asked with a big grin. "No, but if he doesn't quit we will both be soaked." Well, I can take a hint, so I quit tickling her and she immediately hopped off my lap headed for the bathroom. Shelly was grinning at her as she walked away. "Pops, I like her. She sure is mature with all she's been through. She told me how you rescued her and I think you did a great job doing it. Now, if I can figure out a way to make us sisters, we both can spend our playtime picking on you." "Well, Flycatcher, I appreciate your vote of confidence, but how soon is supper gonna be served. I am starving." "My name is not Flycatcher, and as far as I am concerned you can go hungry." With that she flounced off, went about ten feet, turned and stuck her tongue out at me, gave me a big grin, and headed for the back. I heard laughter behind me and looked around to see BK, Barry, the Chief and Zeke all sitting at the table behind me, laughing up a storm. I quickly looked around before giving them the bird which just made them laugh harder. A man just can't have any privacy, I thought. Then I realized I was sitting in the middle of the dining hall, with about fifty people sitting at different tables and all of them were looking at me, grinning at the byplay. Damn, I felt like shrinking into the floor to escape the grins. Luckily dinner was being set up at the steam tables at the end on my side, so I hopped up to be first in line. I was and stood there with all the women grinning at me until I could get my food and sit down again. Of course I was joined a little later by the men and Sarah and Shelly. Both girls would look at me and just giggle as they ate. I decided to finish, grab a cup of coffee and go outside for a smoke. Well that lasted about fifteen minutes before I was joined by Barry, Zeke and BK. I was already puffing on my pipe and to my surprise Zeke lit up a stogie that was almost as big around as a baseball bat. "Where in the hell did you find that thing, Zeke?" "Well, I have them shipped in from Mexico. They are listed as novelty items but they are pure Havana Tobacco. I have about four boxes of them left and I guess I won't be getting any more after all of this happened. I thought about rerolling them, but it just wouldn't be the same." I looked at him holding that thing in both hands and couldn't help myself as I cracked up laughing. Barry and BK both did the same a short minute after I did. When the Chief walked out, this was how he found us. He looked at all of us laughing, then at Zeke and his cigar before saying anything. "Ahh, I see you found the Havana order site like I did. You do know you could have ordered them in smaller sizes?" The look on Zeke's face at this news was, as they say, 'priceless', and we were all laughing so hard I almost missed the frantic motioning of the radio man waving us inside. I stood up and moved inside, dropping my pipe in my pocket as I went. I felt rather than saw the rest following me in. When we got in the radio room it was crowded. We all watched as he flipped a couple of switches, letting us listen to a prerecorded message. "This is the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. This message was recorded to play on the Ham Bands as a warning for all of you still alive and monitoring the radios. These things for lack of a better name do, I repeat, do have very sharp residual memories. They are able to do regular jobs they were trained for in their everyday lives before they became infected. Although it may take them days to figure it out and do what they know, they CAN do it. As of nine pm eastern time, we as the CDC in Atlanta no longer exist. We were overrun just as I finished recording this message. The only thing that seems to stop them is either a bullet in the head or fire. People, there are millions of them roaming all the bigger cities and they are starting to migrate outwards. If you have somewhere to hide, we suggest you get in it and spray a fifty percent mix of bleach or ammonia behind you as that is the only thing we have found that seems to affect them. The smell of it seems to scramble their thought processes for an hour or so. We never found out why, but it works. We heard what sounded like screams in the background before the message started playing again." I took a deep breath before looking around at the people in the room. To a man, they all had looks of shock and fright on their faces. "Ok, Operator, get Kittrick on the horn and if he hasn't heard this have him tune in. Tell him I said for everyone's safety he has to move on those prisons in Safford now. Tell him I said we don't have time to debate it. We have to start cutting down the odds in our area before more come in from other areas, looking for us as their next meal. Barry, I want every bottle of bleach and ammonia brought in from anyone who has any, full or not. I also want all of you to start gathering up hand sprayers as well as a couple of the pull type crop sprayers. Zeke, do you remember how to make flame throwers? We have plenty of soap and gas to use for them. If we use a weak solution of soap and gas, it will stick to them and be less likely to explode. Chief, get with one of our carpenters and have a box built on the back of that buggy. While we are out, if we go by any ranches, we will pick up any containers we find. Barry, get a list of the ranchers who might have some in drums. Send them out with help in one of the hummers to pick up any drums from their ranches. From what I heard in that recording, those people gave their lives to get this out. By god we are going to use it to help our town to fight them when the time comes. Ok people, let's go." To my surprise there were no questions at all, they just went out. I was starting to leave when the radio operator held up his finger, handing me a headset to put on. It was Ben calling in. I brought him up to date as well as telling him what band to tune in so he could listen to the recording. He informed me he was working this way and had plenty of fuel in the tug so he wouldn't have to get near any ports for awhile. He also said there wasn't any boat traffic nor had he seen any survivors. He asked about Jack and I told him it would be at least two weeks or so before I could start to arrange a pickup. He wasn't very happy with the news, but understood my situation. He told me there was a powerful FM station operating out of Puerto Rico that was on the air in Spanish and English every night with a lot of news about other countries and some of the larger cities in the US. He said we might want to listen to it as it gave locations where pockets of survivors were located. There were also many other small cities like ours where they were doing ok so far. He also said they were using cell phones to keep in touch until the power to the towers went out. We finally signed off after he said he would check in with our operator every other night at eight our time. I thanked the operator who said his name was Sandy. Thinking about it, I wondered if some of the raiders who had been trying to move in on us would be listening in to the radio as well as the Hams like we were. I turned back and gave some instructions to Sandy before I headed for bed. I went out with a heavy heart wondering what the hell was going to happen now since these things could only be killed by fire or a bullet to the head. Bleach or ammonia only confused them for an hour or so, but it allowed time enough to get close enough to kill them. It didn't leave any of us who were alive with too much wiggle room since these things would eventually start running out and we would have to find something new to use. I was beat, and looking at my watch I realized it was only about ten PM. Damn, I thought, I am starting to turn into a rancher; bed before nine and up before dawn. I was chuckling as I went into the office to see another small couch had been moved in. Looking at Sarah sound asleep on it made me smile before passing out myself, hoping that that damned buggy wouldn't leave me with a screwed up back from all the bouncing. ------- Chapter 28 I woke up, and for some reason I didn't feel alone on the couch where I slept. Feeling the little body cuddled up to me, I realized that Sarah, sometime during the night, had slipped into the bed with me. It was light enough that I could see her hugging her teddy bear as she lay next to me. I felt a little irritated at first, but thinking about it, I knew I was overreacting. I lay back down, listening to her soft breathing, remembering my daughter and how many times she had slipped into bed with me when she was little. Although I was a light sleeper for some reason she, and now Sarah, never seemed to wake me when they did. Any other movement or noise never failed to bring me wide awake from the soundest sleep. I wondered where my daughter and hers were now, and if they were safe. I finally managed to slip out without waking her and went in to do my morning thing. This morning I speeded up 'cause I just knew there would be a knock on the door saying a little someone had to pee. I chuckled to myself because almost as soon as I had my socks and pants on, that little knock sounded. "Are you gonna be much longer, Pops? I really have to go." I opened the door with my boots in my hand and she rushed past me, shutting the door as she went inside. I sat down on her couch, lacing my boots, chuckling to myself as I did. I stopped by the bathroom door and told her to wash up and get dressed as I would be in the dining room waiting on her. "Don't forget to brush your teeth." "I will!" was the reply as I went out. When I got to the dining room I only saw four or five women, sitting around looking half asleep. Then I finally looked at my watch and got a helluva shock. 4:00 AM! What the hell was I doing up this early I wondered. I drew a cup of coffee from the seemingly never empty pot on the table by the wall. I went and sat down near the pot, sipping my coffee, thinking about what I was going to do today. A rather large woman got up and came to where I was sitting and sat down across from me. She seemed familiar, but I had never been introduced to her as far as I could remember. "Marshal, my name is Gertie. I was the head cook here before all this happened." "What can I do for you, Gertie?" "I would like to talk to you about that little girl you brought in." I had known that someone would ask, but it was the way she asked that got me a little pissed. I sat my cup down and looked her straight in the eyes as I asked; "What about her?" Looking at me in the eyes, her whole demeanor changed and she seemed like she shrunk in stature. I never got to hear her answer because Brenda came over to sit down and noticed my look and tension. "Gertie what the hell do you think you are doing? This isn't what we agreed on and you were told by the committee not to even try. Now take your ass back to your table before I lose my temper and do something which you will regret. We will be having a talk about this later this morning." She was up and almost ran back to where she had been sitting and heavily plopped down in the chair, looking white faced when she noticed I was still watching her. "Ok, Brenda, what was that all about and what is this committee you mentioned?" "Marshal, the committee is just several of the women who are living here. We were elected by majority among just the women. We decide babysitting, assigning laundry and cleaners and who does the cooking. Now, I am sorry about Gertie. She is an old spinster who doesn't think that men should raise little girls without a woman's supervision. She started complaining that you should let one of us women take care of Sarah. I, as well as several others, told her to mind her own business. But from what I saw here just a minute ago, I think she is returning to her tendency to meddle. Marshal, Shelly and Sarah have become friends, with you being the focus of both of them. There is an age difference, but Shelly will be like a big sister to her. Shelly likes you as much as she liked my father before he passed last year. Barry and I have talked about it and we think it is healthy for her to have someone older to talk to besides us. Sarah has already made it very plain that as long as you will have her, she is staying with you. I think maybe that between both of them they will keep you from doing anything stupid while you are out roving. We all know you are under a lot of pressure to make sure all of us are safe and we all, even Gertie, appreciate it. Don't be too upset with her because she loves children and would probably give up her own life to protect all of them if it came down to it. She just has notions about kids and men that she will never give up. I think that she was molested many years ago and in turn made taking care of and guarding the kids her mission in life. She really has a kind heart, Marshal." I looked at her and then went and refilled my coffee before sitting back down. I took a deep breath to calm myself because I didn't need any strife among the women here and I knew Brenda was the leader as well as a really nice lady. If she said that about Gertie, then it was probably true. I had run into this type of thing before, many years ago in another time and place. "Brenda, I don't have any hard feelings towards her, but the way she started out set my nerves on end from the tone of her voice. I don't have a choice about Sarah as she is an orphan and I gave her a choice to stay with me. But, if she changes her mind, I will try to abide by her wishes. I have been alone a lot of years and it will take some changes on my part to adjust to having a five and a half year old who talks like an English teacher living with me. Hell, when I woke this morning, she was curled up next to me sleeping away, just like my daughter used to do. It startled the hell out of me at first, but then I figured I better get used to it again." "Shelly used to do the same with me and Barry 'till she was almost eight. Mikey only came in when he thought we were sleeping too late or he was hungry. I think Sarah is looking at you as a father figure since both her parents are gone and she has no one else she can trust. I think before this is all over with, you will be glad you have each other. Oh, and while I am thinking about it, Shelly wants BK to teach her to shoot her rifle and I told them I would ask for your permission. BK said he would supervise and make sure she was taught right." "I don't have any objections with it, Brenda, if they are careful. With BK teaching them they will both be better than me and I will never hear the last of it. Maybe I should have some range time myself before they all start challenging me to shoot with them." "Well, Shelly and her brother are already crack shots with those little 22s they both have. Barry spent hours teaching them and we both trust them not to do anything foolish when they have a loaded gun in their hands. Out here we all think the children 10 and up should be able to protect themselves and the stock. Between the coyotes, human and four legged and snakes, they should be able to hit what they shoot at and not hesitate. Breakfast will be served in another twenty minutes and since you and the Chief will be out most of the day, we will pack you a lunch and fill a couple of canteens with water for both of you. You be careful out there Marshal, and don't take any stupid chances. Call for help if you need it and keep in touch with the radio here. Now here comes a cute little girl that needs some orange juice while you have your coffee and finish waking up. Barry is sleeping in a couple extra hours today and I gave orders he wasn't to be disturbed. Now you have a safe day, Marshal." She was up and gone just that quick. I wondered where Zeke and BK were as well as where they were staying as Sarah sat down next to me yawning. "You could have slept for a few more hours, Sarah." "Yeah, but it was nice and warm next to you and when you got up I didn't have anyone to snuggle up to. Besides, Shelly said she was going to teach me how to shoot a rifle today and I don't want to miss my lessons." "Well, with Shelly being a teenager, she will probably sleep till noon so you will have a long wait." "I do not sleep till noon, Pops." The moment I heard her behind me, I just dropped my forehead to the table with a loud thump and groaned out loud. This caused both of them to crack up laughing at my fake distress, or at least I thought that what was causing it. Of course I didn't expect Brenda to come out right in the middle of it and bust up laughing too. She set the orange juice in front of Sarah with the comment; "This ain't the big city! Kids don't sleep in; they are expected to do chores before breakfast." I just groaned again to their delight, and loudly sipped my coffee, making sure I slurped loudly as I did. I heard two "POPS" and one "MEN" from Brenda before they all collapsed in giggles and laughter. I looked up, sensing someone staring at me, and there stood the Chief with a big grin on his face, shaking his head from side to side. I just grinned at him and slurped again. ------- To Be Continued... ------- Posted: 2012-10-31 Last Modified: 2013-03-06 / 03:43:49 pm ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------