Death Has Fallen: Freedom Rock Chronicles: Book 1 (9 page)

              As we walked through the middle of town Ted pulled us aside into the largest building they had put together.  He told us this was a town hall of sorts and where all the important decisions were made by the community leaders.  The building was the only one which was mostly made from lumber.  The other buildings were built from a mix of scrap plywood and metal.  We stepped through the main doorway leading to an open room.  Two men each carrying pistols on their belt stood in the middle of the room arguing.  The man on the left stood a bit taller than the man on the right.  He also held himself in a more authoritative fashion.  He like the men who picked us up wore a large cowboy hat and boots.  The man on the right who was arguing with him was quite a bit shorter and larger around the midsection.  He wore a button down white shirt and slacks.  Even though his clothes had been stained and ripped he still seemed to be a person of higher learning.

              The two men became quiet as Ted walked towards them.  They also seemed interested in us looking past Ted and paying special attention to me. It seemed to me they were evaluating whether I was a fighter or worker.  As Ted approached the two he asked, “What’s going on?”

              Both men began speaking at the same time, each believing his views should be told first.  Ted held his hand up signaling the Duo to quit talking. Ted then began speaking, “Earl, you first.”

              Earl looked at the smart man smiling at the victory and said, “We need more resources for the wall.  Three of those things made it over the lower section of the wall.  They were shot as they came over, but all it takes is for one to slip past a patrol and they will be in the middle of our city eating us like a buffet.”

              Ted shook his head in agreement with Earl’s statement then looked at the nerdy gentleman and said, “Timothy?”

              At the mention of his name the man looked at Ted’s face.  “We need to develop a renewable power source, food source, and figure out a way to create a water treatment plant.”

              After he finished the statement Earl began arguing as they had before we walked in, “How will any of that help us if the monsters jump over the wall.”

              Timothy retaliated, “The wall will do nothing if we sit in her dying from starvation and thirst.”

              “Guys, Guys, quit with the fighting.  You both make great points and we will work on both equally.  Security is pointless if we die in here and what good will food and water do if we are all walking around as zombies. Neither of these points should be dismissed and both have the same authority.  On our next scavenge mission we will take you two along to pick out what you need.  I know you two are brothers, but the constant bickering will get you nowhere.” Ted smiled at this last statement.

              The two shook their heads in a positive fashion accepting Ted’s words as a suitable resolution.  The two then stepped out of the hall giving Ted the chance to properly introduce us to the rules and customs of this new founded town.  Slowly he turned looking at me, with a bit of nervousness.  Yes we met and introduced ourselves, but what did he really know about us.  After staring at me from head to toe he stepped forward around me toward the two women standing behind me.

              “Well I have met Jake here, but have not met you two young ladies.” Sticking his hand out as he spoke.

              With Jaime seeming overly cautious he first centered his attention to Amanda.  Slowly she stuck her hand out stating her name “Amanda… Amanda Ankston.”

              “Nice to meet you Amanda, I won’t even try to pronounce your last name.”  He said this with a brash of flirtation and certain confidence.  

              He then turned his head slowly as if not to startle the terrified woman standing next to Amanda.  Slowly he looked at her face and said, “What about you?”

              Looking at me first as if to find some sort of idea what to say.  I motioned my head towards Ted as if to say its ok he won’t kill us.

              With assurance she slowly stuck her hand out, saying quietly and shyly, “Jaime”.

              As he shook her hand he stared at her with a surprise.  He couldn’t understand why someone would be so nervous to meet him.  He asked, “Did I do something to frighten you?”

              Once again she turned to me and in her expression it was easy to see she was asking for help.  I turned to Ted saying, “She had a bad run in with a couple men who captured her and held her prisoner.  She is a bit cautious of meeting new people, I am sure you can understand.”

              He looked at me then looked back at her stating “Oh yes, the only thing I hate worse than those undead surrounding our town is the raiders who think without law they will not have to face punishment for their actions.  Trust me Julie everyone here will treat you with the utmost respect or be thrown out of the city and left to fend for themselves.”

              After speaking with Julie he turned towards me.  I could see Julie’s face relax and the terror fade.  She realized she would be safe here from the people who would do her harm.  With that I relaxed a little bit as well.  I knew we would be safe here since none of us was out to hurt others.  In a few instances we have risked our own lives in order to save our companions.  Perhaps Ted could see this and was why he believed in us and trusted us.

              As he looked me in the eyes he asked bluntly, “What can you offer us here?”

              Taking a moment to ponder the question in an attempt not to be thrown out on my first day I said, “I can fight, scavenge, and have some technical skills dealing with computers. I also learn quickly and am willing to take on any job you have.” With the confidence I showed, Ted’s face shook in agreement. 

              He said, “That is good we need those willing to fight and work.  I believe both of the Dunham brothers will find use for you.”

              This took me somewhat off guard.  I asked, “Who are the Dunham brother’s?”

              He said, “The two men you saw in here earlier.  Earl is in charge of security both in and out of the city and Timothy is in charge of all town matters including housing, food, water, and anything else that pops up.  I found the brother’s very capable and work well with anyone besides themselves.”

              I shook my head in approval.  He then turned to Amanda and asked her the same question.  Much quicker than I she responded, “I can clean and cook, but would prefer to build.  I do not have much experience, but I am strong and could help with the wall and houses.”

              “Can you shoot?”

              “Yes I can shoot, but prefer not to kill if I do not have to.” In her eyes I could see her go back to all the death that she experienced.  “I know this may not help, but before the plague I was very good with finance and if this town has or is going to get any form of currency I could develop the banking system.”

              Before answering Ted shook his head saying, “Well we don’t have anything like that right now, but down the road once we have taken care of safety and life sustaining matters a currency system may be helpful.  You sound like you can be of use to the town.”

              Before he was able to ask Jaime anything she blurted out, “I want to fight.”  This statement shocked us all.  We all turned and began staring at her with jaws open.  She laughed a bit asking, “What?”

              I said, “I don’t think you have to fight, they must have other jobs available.” I looked at Ted who shook his head letting me know I was right.

              With the dismissal of her wants a bit of fury boiled inside her turning her cheeks bright red.  This time she spoke with passion saying, “When I was captured by those men I had no protection and was unable to fight.  They dragged me back to their camp and took turns on me.  All I could think about was how weak I felt as they were on top of me.  They at least allowed me to live, what will those undead do if I get caught in the same position.  They will take turns, but turns ripping me apart.  I want to learn how to fight, kill, and truly be protected.  Let me fight… Please.”

              The seriousness in her face as she finally spoke about what happened to her back in that pine grove shook me deep inside.  The fury burned as I spoke up and said, “I want to protect these people as well.  We have plenty of guns and boxes of ammo to contribute to your stores.”

              He smiled as we finished our proclamations saying, “Two fighters? Yes I think Earl will be happy with that.  Timothy is also always looking for anyone who is willing to help with town maintenance.”

Chapter 11

              As we walked out of the hall, the sun hit our eyes seeming especially bright.  We followed him down what looked to be a main road, though it was difficult to tell.  The road brought us deeper into the quarry.  The walls went straight up then on top of the stone wall which lined the quarry rested the metal walls.  If these undead were able to find a way over the metal walls they would have to jump a hundred feet to get down to the people deep within the quarry. As we walked deeper into the quarry I asked Ted, “How long have you guys been building this place?”

              “I have been working on this place since news of the virus.  I knew it would only be a matter of time before we would need some place safe away from Denver and a place that was easy to contain.  What you see I have been building for months, but all these people showed up in the last couple weeks.  I have found work progresses much faster with the more good honest hardworking people we have living here.”

              With that he remained quiet until we reached the end of the road.  He pointed around to the different spots which had nothing built on them saying, “You three can make a house in one of these vacant cleared lots.  To conserve space I recommend you guys build one house together.  We have public stores of food and water with everyone receiving rations daily.  To get extra food or water you must either be sick, or on a strenuous work detail.  For the most part you will eat and drink well here.  Sorry to say, but one thing we have had no time for is entertainment.  There are a few novels roaming around the town and people will be willing to share if you ask.  Timothy has a store of building supplies only a few meters outside the camp.  It is where we throw all building materials we scavenge from around the area.”

              “Thank you for all your help.” Amanda said.

              “Yes thank you.” I repeated.

              He then pointed to one of the larger buildings which seemed be the most secure building around.  “That is where you will find Earl when he is not out, and where our stockpiles of guns are.  We have a pretty good supply of rifles and pistols as well as ammo.  There are no military grade weapons.  We are planning on raiding a base near Denver hopefully it will still be well supplied.  For Timothy he will either be in the town hall hosting meetings, or walking around town working on all the different buildings.  The man is very brilliant when it comes to building so if you struggle with your house be sure to give him a shout.  Once you get your shelter up see one of them or me for work.”

              “Should we give our extra guns to Earl?” I asked.

              “Yes, he keeps track of our weapons.  Our citizens here are allowed to carry one gun on them at any one time.  We do this to keep track of all the weapons around town.  We also prefer if you only take one or two guns when you leave the quarry so if you die we don’t lose a large amount of weapons.  I know this sounds harsh, but we learned the hard way a man that dies with ten guns on him forces the population to suffer.  This also ensures people that need a gun will have one.”

              I smiled nodding my head in understanding.  He then headed back up the quarry to the front of town.  I stood in our new vacant area within the town.  The area had been well cleared in anticipation of use.  All loose dirt and gravel was scraped away leaving a nice flat stone floor.  It would be difficult to build any type of foundation, but as I looked at all the other shanties throughout town it looked as though no one had dug into the rock.  I slowly walked to the back of our lot which was only twenty or so feet long.  We were in one of the deepest parts of the quarry and even though it placed us close to the town walls the stone wall at the back of our lot sprouted up at least a hundred feet. Anything falling from that distance whether dead or alive would not be getting back up.

              I looked at the other two who stood behind me in the empty lot and asked, “What do you think?”

              They seemed a bit shocked, but certainly pleased.  Smiles from ear to ear crossed both of their faces.  After a while of staring Amanda finally said, “I think for once I will be able to sleep.”  Jaime added, “I am so excited to start our house.”

              “Will you two be ok living with me?” I asked worried especially about Jaime.

              She was the first one to speak saying, “I wouldn’t want to live alone, after everything that has happened.”

              Amanda then added, “I would like us all to live together.”

              For once since the journey began everyone smiled.  We all shared success through the pain and anguish of losing so much.  We had arrived at the city untouched by sickness and death.  The heat of the sun told us we still had a few hours to set something up before our first night here.  We began walking back up to the top first stopping by the large metal house which had “Security Office” painted on the door.  I knocked softly then walked in.  The walls were lined with an array of guns.  All types of rifles were mounted to the walls and many pistols were placed on hand made counters.