“If there aren’t any other questions about this run, let’s get home and get some rest, we will need all the sleep we can get.” Hendricks said to the group of us, trying to lighten the mood after the evenings debrief.
For the last several hours we have been sitting around in the high school gym going over everything that had been told to us. All the raiding parties left in town were here along with various members of the community, especially those that needed to know everything to keep the town running.
After all the information had been relayed, we started planning a run down to Newcastle to see if we could find out any more useful information, or if anyone else was still alive. We usually don’t travel in as large of a group as we plan to this time, but under the circumstances we thought it better to be safe than sorry. It’s a long trip and if we find a horde of kooks or evo’s we will need all the hands and guns we can get, so in all there will be four teams going, equaling twenty-six people.
“Alright then, get some rest.” Hendricks finished saying, dismissing us. “We’ll leave tomorrow first thing in the morning.”
When I was finally back at the O, the dinner rush was just dying down and the staff was getting ready for the bar crowd. GG, Charlie and Harper were running the place with several extra’s on the floor. Word must have gotten out that we would need some help around here for a couple of weeks.
“Hey lady, how goes it?” Charlie asked me as I made my way up to the counter. Today she was wearing her short hair in spiky ponytails on either side of her head and her makeup was dark to match her clothes; a short tight skirt, tank top and knee high boots. She looked like a goth baby.
“We leave in the morning.” I told her and then sat at one of the stools and took a big gulp out of the glass she was drinking from. I immediately regretted it as I forced the thick grassy liquid down my throat. Charlie was very earthy in her diet, she ate a ton of fruit and vegetables, which is great, but the drinks she would mix up…gross was putting it mildly.
“You should get some rest then, have you eaten?” She said trying to hide her smile as she watched with humor at my disgust.
“I’ll get something and take it to my room, what did you guys make anyway?” I asked curiously after having just tasted her ‘drink’. Usually it’s Grady or I who come up with the dinner menu, but since neither of us was available it was left up to them to decide and make it. I hope people were able to eat it.
Charlie smiled, obviously proud of herself before telling me, “Pizza.”
“Pizza? How did you do you that?” I was surprised. Pizza wasn’t something we did very often around here, and mostly because cheese was harder to get and keep fresh more than anything else.
“It was easy and we needed something easy.” She shrugged. “First we had GG show us how to make some dough since neither me or Harper knew how. Then we used some of the canned tomatoes to make the sauce and the venison sausage you had in the fridge, we chopped up some veggies and after I went over to Addley’s and asked her for some goat cheese, viola’! Pizza!”
“Wow, well good for you two.” I told her impressed. “I’m glad you guys were able to bond over food. It’s a start.” I smiled at her as I stood up to go hunt down some of their pizza, choosing to ignore her eye roll and attempt to whip me with her wet towel.
The pizza was still warm, so after grabbing two of the remaining few slices I hollered to Charlie through the serving window that I was going to bed. “Will you be here in the morning before I leave?” I asked her.
“Yeah.” She called back to me as she cleaned and cleared off a couple of the tables. With that I ducked out through the back entrance and hurried to my room so I could enjoy the comforts of civilization before I found myself out in the open and without the luxury of a good night’s sleep.
After eating the surprisingly good pizza, I went in my bathroom and took a long hot bath. It’s something of a going away gift to myself; a ritual that I indulge in provided we have hot and running water.
By the time my alarm went off the next morning I had already been lying in bed awake for close to an hour. I was of a mix of nervous energy and excitement, the adrenaline rush you get when you’re out in the morgue really gets the blood pumping.
After taking a shower and dressing I went to the kitchen to find a hot breakfast that was already cooking on the stove. My mother was pouring a cup of coffee for herself when she caught sight of me coming through the door. Without me having to ask she grabbed another cup and filled it up and then handed it to me.
“Good morning Abby. How did you sleep?” She asked before going back into the kitchen to check on the items she was cooking.
“Good.” I told her as I made my way over to sit next to Hendricks who had his own cup of coffee in his hand.
Breakfast was quiet, much like it usually is before we go out on an assignment, and after we ate our pancakes, bacon and eggs (over medium) we said our goodbyes and made our way to the Safe.
The Safe is where we get in our gear, are given our weapons and check our supplies before heading to the Pit to load up in our vehicle and leave.
Over the years people learned quickly that t-shirts and jeans were not suitable clothes for protecting yourself from a kook bite, and soon began wearing things that were more appropriate to withstand hungry teeth.
Our bite-proof suit is a requirement for all vanguard when they are out in the morgue. We’ve stock piled hundreds of different types of clothing, cloth and protective gear that have proven time and time again to be the second best defense against a zombie attack. The first of course being anything sharp or with a bullet. All our gear is made up of one or a combination of cut proof cloth, shark chain mail and Kevlar.
The vanguard wear a uniform that starts with cut proof long underwear and a long sleeve turtle neck that’s light weight and form fitting, we have them tailored by Joni; our resident seamstress, to fit so they don’t get in the way under everything else we pile on. A Black leather and Kevlar jumpsuit covers the underwear and knee high leather biker boots go over top of that. Sewn on the front and back of the leather jumpsuit is a reflective red Japanese symbol that means Human. It basically looks like a fancy upside down Y that’s shiny and crimson in color that’s meant to protect us from each other or others if and when we are moving around in the dark. It’s saved a few people a few times, myself included.
We also have bullet proof vests, gloves, body armor and hoodies or helmets to choose from and a slew of other things to pick from to layer on. It feels like a lot until you’re being hunted and chased by something dead and infectious, it’s then when you feel totally naked and curse yourself for not putting more on.
Once we’re dressed, we grab our weapons and head over to the Pit where we load up our transport with more weapons, food, water and first aid supplies before heading to the gate.
Because this group is so big and because we are hoping to find survivors we are taking a larger array of vehicles this time, ranging from a blacked out school bus with bars on the windows and spikes welded to the body and tires, to a caravan of trucks and military vehicles we’ve found and re-purposed to suit our needs; Humvees, Army GILA, Armored Fighting trucks and Fords F250’s. All painted black and reinforced with various weapons, roll bars, road armor, spot lights and grills.
As a rule when we travel we stay away from main roads and highways as much as possible while avoiding the biggest cities. They tend to hold the most dangers from both the living and the dead, and unless it’s necessary we stay away.
Humanity has suffered more than in just the obvious and although there are still thousands of us who function on a basic human level, there are those who have lost all of their way. It’s unfortunate that the disease that has plagued the world wasn’t enough to rid us of our indecencies against each other.
On the other hand, for those of us who are interested in surviving this nightmare, it has strengthened and united us in ways that once were only hoped for. We no longer hold prejudice or fears again
st one another based on antiquated beliefs.
“Stay close, we’ll be drawing a lot of attention to ourselves this way, and we can’t afford for anyone to fall behind.” Commander Hendricks addressed us one last time as we stood around the gate readying ourselves to leave. “Keep your radio’s turned to channel four. Our first stop is Seeley Lake.”
The three hour drive to Seeley Lake was quiet and uneventful, save for the few wondering kooks we picked off in the fields or on the sides of the road. It's one of our traveling games and we keep score. There's no prize, unless you count first dibs on any loot found. So far, I'm in the lead.
The town itself has been empty and cleared of infection for a while now and we use it because of that reason and because of it’s out of the way location. We stopped in the small town to fuel up and stretch our legs, and for some to change their driving partners.
We use Seeley Lake on a regular basis and take care and pride in what is left of the small town. We keep it stocked with supplies and come up this way to hunt and fish. Most of the town was burned long before we started coming here, but there are a few buildings that were untouched and some cabins up further in the hills that we use. We also have several fishing boats we keep here.
The remainder of the trip had lulls and peaks of calm and commotion. Once we passed through the small wilderness section between Deer Lodge and Clancy our trip through Townsend was accosted with gunfire. The small town is a hotspot for stragglers that come from the overrun capital Helena, and as many times as we’ve tried to rid the town of the dead, the best that we can do is make sure the road is clear of their remains for our journey the next time.
It took us a couple of hours to clear the bodies off the street and put them into a burn pile once we had killed them all. We touch the infected as little as possible and never intentionally come into contact with them and our bare skin. We keep boxes of gloves, disposable face masks and other protection gear on hand and have an array of shovels, meat hooks and trash pickers to move the bodies and their parts; we even have a plow attached to the fronts of most of our pickup trucks in case there are just too many to move by hand. If we can avoid it though, we try not to use the vehicles as weapons or clean up tools. They are a pain in the ass to clean and can sometimes take weeks to be cleared for use again.
I’d just scooped up a severed foot with my shovel when I saw Holden out of the corner of my eye. He was using his favorite clean up tool—the meat hook—and had just whipped it through the air, over his head, slamming the point of it under a kooks jaw and through its skull until the tip popped through one of its eyes, then he turned and started pulling it into the burn pile.
“What?” He said to me in his cocky tone as he noticed I was watching him, then smirked at me and kept walking, dragging the dead body behind him leaving a trail of mess and old blood in its wake.
“You’re disgusting that’s what.” I said to him then lifted the shovel up over my shoulder and threw the foot I had in it past him and into the pile.
“You mean efficient.” He said back to me. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at him before heading back over to the other side of the road.
Blaise had just flung a bag full of parts over his back and was heading in our direction when he told me, “Just ignore him Abby, you know how he is.”
I nodded in agreement then bent down and grabbed a half man by the ankles and drug him to the pile with the rest of the bodies.
Once the cleanup was done we dumped a gallon of fuel on the carcass heap and set it on fire. After that we loaded back up and headed out before anything else found itself drawn to our location.
By the time we reached the old abandoned airport hangar a few miles past the old Wyoming border we had been on the road for more than twelve hours. Travel at night can be far more dangerous than traveling during the day, so after checking and making sure the area was clear and secure we parked our convoy and set up camp inside the large steel building.
“You should get some rest Abby.” Hendricks said, sitting down next to me and the small fire that we made.
“I will after you. You’re the one that drove all day, besides I’ve napped on and off for most of the drive.” I said to him. He nodded in acknowledgment to me then turned his focus on our guest.
“Ryan, how you holding up?” He asked the man as he handed me a bag of deer jerky and then pulled off the tops of several soup cans to set them carefully around the fire. Ryan was one of the rescues from Honor that came back with Rick. When he found out about our planned trip to come back here he offered to be our guide into the town and to direct us in the best way to get there.
I couldn’t decide if he looked better or worse after a shower and some sleep. His clothes were clean but he still looked like a mess and his face was hollow from stress and weight loss.
“Thanks.” He said to me as I passed the bag of dried meat over to him. “I’m doing alright, a little anxious to be honest.” He said with a weak smile.
“Well, that’s to be expected.” Hendricks told him and then added after a few minutes, “We can’t turn around or afford to send anyone back with you, but if you change your mind at any time, I’m sure we can find you a safe spot to wait until we’re through.”
“No.” Ryan said sternly, shaking his head. “No sir, I want go. I need to know if anyone survived. There are people that we left behind, our families and friends.”
Hendricks stared at him for a moment then said to him, “Understood.” as if they had made some sort of pact or deal of some kind, before handing him one of the soup cans.
We sat in silence for a while after that; the three of us, and ate our lukewarm potato soup and deer jerky. The silence between us was accompanied by the crackle of the fire and the wind as it howled and rustled the metal sheeting of the building. You could hear the breeze as it whistled through the small cracks and fissures in the windows and the seams of the structure.
Outside the night was bright with a clear sky full of twinkling stars and a full moon that shone in through the glass. The faint glow shimmered in as it danced in competition with the blaze from the fire for attention.
In this flimsy shelter I felt eerily comfortable out here in the morgue. Maybe it was the large group that was with me or the leisure of the night, but I was perfectly at ease in this place we had sought out for protection. On a normal run there are no relaxing meals by a fire and the quiet conversations and stories being had and told are a rare occurrence. It’s not often we find a true shelter to wait out the night and our focus is usually strictly and soundlessly on the dark ahead of us.
I watched the two men that sat on either side of me and contemplated the thoughts that were going through their heads as emotions played across their faces. I wouldn’t want to be in either of their shoes, the unknown of what we were walking into was enough without the added pressure of being responsible for everyone here, or the fear of what you may or may not find at home. I couldn’t imagine what Ryan was going through and I would never want to be the person that had to make the tough decisions that came with command.
We sat in silence for a while longer before making our way over to the others that were in our group. After setting up a watch rotation most of our party took to their vehicles or a quiet place to get some sleep. I volunteered, along with a couple of the others, to be on watch for the night knowing we would be able to sleep while we traveled throughout the day again tomorrow.
I made my way over to where I would be spending my night and settled in with a watchful eye out into the darkness of the morgue. The window I was looking through was filthy with a layer of old dirt and grime that looked like it had been collecting for years. Pulling up my sleeve over my wrist I cleaned it the best I could with just the pressure of the cloth. Once I was satisfied with the cleared circle I was able to see more clearly the night ahead.
As the hours ticked by and my mind wondered I couldn’t help but think about what life must have been like before all of this, something I o
ften found myself fantasizing about. I had an idea given to me from old magazines, newspapers and movies, but it was the feeling of security that often evaded me. The sense of caution I lived with on a daily basis was hard for me to imagine myself without, never being afraid of your own shadow and not being scared of death. It was a wonderment to me as I envied those of the past.
As the night sky began to lighten into a blue and yellow hue I felt my reality settle back in and around me, off in the distance was an old burn pile of torched bodies. All that remained were the blackened bones and a pile of ash, but it was enough to erase the mild night of day dreams and wishful thinking to get me back to the present.
The group began to slowly wake and stir with the morning light and of the smell of coffee that had been put on a small fire. My back was stiff as I made my way over for a cup of the black stuff; cream and sugar were luxuries that could only be found at the O, but I was thankful for the hot beverage anyway. After having our rationed breakfast of apples and bread I stretched, brushed my teeth and shook off the night and went back to work.
Ryan had drawn on a map indicating the best way for us to enter Honor and told us again anything he could remember about that night that might help us today.
Less than an hour later we had reloaded and packed our caravan and were on the road. It would be a couple more hours before we were close to our stopping point and before we reached our destination, so as soon as we were on the road I found myself in the backseat of a big Ford truck being lulled to sleep by the hum of the engine and the gentle rocking and sway of the vehicle as it moved and glided over the paved road.