Life Among the Dead (Book 4): The End (42 page)

3

What Abby declared at the end of the meeting is exactly what happened, the Rubicon soldiers set up camp beyond the safety of the wall, their non-combatants remained within. A compromise was struck, the gate would remain down but a scaffold was built to allow the Rubies entry. Dan Williamson provided the secret weapon that swiftly helped the volunteers take back what ground they lost and more. He donated his blood in alarming volumes without any ill effects. A dilution factor was calculated by Bob-o, a minimal amount of blood per gallon of water that could be dispersed on the dead to stretch the weapon as far as possible and still remain effective. Oral delivery had proven effective, transdermal usage works just as well once alcohol is added to the cocktail to aid absorption.

Higher stronger barriers were erected to prevent another onslaught from the crafty New Breed that has learned to avoid the humans now that they have demonstrated the lethality of their weapon. Large mobs of zombies were taken out in record time, with just a dosing from high pressure sprayers. Those not touched by the poisonous rain ran. The city now belongs to the living.

A helicopter lands in the middle of the lot, returning from making contact with a group of Marines out west. The blades slow after touching down, Rough Rider and Peace Maker jump out jogging straight to Abby in a crouch, instinctively keeping their heads low.

“Damn! I don’t know what those boys were happier to see; the cure, the weapon, or who was flying the bird,” Rough Rider says, glad to be home.

“Boys are such children,” Lady Luck says as she passes in her skin tight flight suit and aviator goggles like she just stepped out of a pin-up from the 1950s.

“I bet their breathing easier now that their infestation has been nipped,” Abby surmises.

“Fuck yeah!” Rough Rider reports. “We could hear them cheer from the sky. Personally, I’d be more satisfied bashing in the zombies’ skull with an axe, but perhaps I’m just being petty and vengeful.”

“You should have seen those big ole kegs of Bug Juice pop,” Peace Maker says with a smile as she remembers the large plastic drums erupting like massive water balloons, drenching the zombies that crowded around the barriers of Camp Pendleton.

“Bug Juice?” Dan says sounding slighted.

“Don’t take it personal, Magic Man. We had a hell of a time coming up with a name for the stuff. First there was Agent Red, kinda like Agent Orange just without the terrible history of harmful effects. We thought of Ruby Red, but that didn’t work on account you ain’t from Rubicon…”

“No offense,” Peace Maker chimes in.

“So, since we’re using these bug killer sprayers,” Rough sums up his explanation, pointing to where Eli pours the weapon into pressurized deployment canisters, “we thought it might be a good name for it. No offense.”

“None taken,” Dan says, giving a look that reveals a bit of a sting.

Dan has been able to visit the Rubies without objection from the military, much to his surprise. He likes seeing how well they work together, how far they’ve come in such a short time since being bestowed with a very effective weapon against the dead. Most of all he likes getting away from the vigilant guard he’s been put under. The Army barely lets him or his family out of their sight now that the cat’s out of the bag about his regenerative abilities and zombie-killing blood. Encouraged to talk more openly about things with Heather, she has joined him over the wall today to show her support, and also escape the ever present entourage keeping tabs on the Williamsons.

Heather and the boys have been checked out by the medical personnel, their blood has shown to be no different than any other survivor in Story Book Land, Dan being the exception. No one else has exhibited Dan’s unique abnormalities.

Heather Williamson finds being on this side of the wall like visiting another planet, it feels odd to set foot in a place she hasn’t been able to see for so long. Over the new barrier that surrounds the lot, freight cars stacked two high, she can see the system of overpasses and ramps that connect to the highway. Figures stand on the high roads, staring eerily at the survivors’ encampment.

“Don’t pay them no mind,” Peace Maker assures the newcomer, seeing her trepidation. “They’re New Breed. They’ve seen what your husband’s blood does to their kind so they know to stay clear of us. It’s the old style we’re concerned with currently since they can’t learn from example.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” Carla puts her arm through her friend’s to make her feel safe.

Abby leads his team to a table for a debriefing about their travels. A map of the country in spread out and held at the corners with rocks to keep it from flying away should a breeze blow through the lot. Lady Luck is already there, waiting patiently for the rest in a folding lawn chair, sunning her exposed skin as relaxed as can be. Dan, Heather, and Carla join to hear what’s going on.

“See anything of interest?” Abby asks. They have not only taken the entire city back from the dead, they’ve quickly spread to the Gulf of Mexico and built barriers across the peninsula. The map shows their progress, what they’ve reclaimed, in bright green highlighter. It’s just a small sliver of what remains to be taken, it’s not much but it’s home.

“On our way back we saw large tribes heading for the Midwest,” Lady Luck reports from her lounger. “Classic zombies. The New Breed are leaving Florida as well, also heading that way.”

“We swung over to see what’s drawing them, but couldn’t really tell from the air,” Peace Maker adds. “From the looks of it they are conglomerating in a city along the Charles River.”

“Waterloo?” Dan asks.

“No, Breckinridge,” she corrects. “There’s a building they are clustered around. Not sure if it’s where they are all going, but we found it odd.”

Dan ponders the phenomenon, he expected her to say they were amassing around Memorial Hospital, which would go along with Gar’s story of his exploits in Waterloo. He knows Breckinridge, there is a pharmaceutical company based out of the city, the name is on the tip of his tongue.

“Is the building reflective?” Abby asks. “You guys used mirrors in New Castle, right? The dead would pause and stare at themselves.”

“That only worked for a short time,” Carla answers. “The dead decomposed, their brains turned to mush, it was like they couldn’t recognize themselves anymore.”

“Mercott & Price!” Dan announces with pride.

“How did you know that?” Rough Rider asks.

“Mercott & Price is one of the largest drug companies in the country,” Dan begins.

“Second only to Wilkes, I assume,” Abby says.

“That’s right. What if the people of M & P got their hands on some Sample 6?” Dan poses the rhetorical question. “Thanks to the ‘live’ specimens you guys got for Bob-o, he’s been able to test different theories. In one trial he let a dot of Sample 6 grow to its full potential and start giving off a gaseous form of itself. The dead went nuts, they wanted it before when they were close, but once the fumes hit the air they all could smell it.”

“So, if this place has a sample of it that was exposed to the air it could be drawing them for miles…” Abby sums, trailing off in thought. “How far away were the dead converging on Breckinridge?”

“Hundred miles or so,” Rough Rider says.

Abby sees an opportunity in this information, he quickly runs the numbers factoring how many people they have, vehicles, gasoline supply, and explosive ordinance on hand. “These Marines, do you think they’ll help us with a big mission if we ask them nicely?”

“These boys will walk through fire if I ask them,” Lady Luck says with confidence.

“Good. We’re gonna need them,” the leader of the Rubies has a plan, Dan has already figured it out as the man motions for his people to follow him as he goes through the details.

“What’s going on?” Carla asks.

“I think they’re going to use globs of Sample 6 to lure as many wandering dead to Breckinridge, and then blow the city to hell,” he explains in awe. “It’ll be a killing blow. The coup de grace.”

Heather sees Dan watch the Rubies rush around their vehicles, the leader pointing out certain ones and giving commands. This is certainly going to be a game changing move, her husband watches the wheels in motion as he stands still. She imagines for him it’s as if he’s been working on a big puzzle for weeks only to watch as someone else finishes the last few pieces.

“Wow. I’d love to see that,” Dan whispers.

“Do you remember when we used to hangout on the roof of our building back home?” Heather asks her husband. “That view over Waterloo was amazing. On clear day you can see Breckinridge, I bet.”

She doesn’t have to bet, they certainly could see the neighboring city. Dan had pointed it out. He nods and responds ‘oh yeah’, oblivious to her point at first. It dawns on him, he slowly turns to her as he realizes she’s telling him to go. He asks her with his eyes if she’s really all right with it, and she nods. His eyes grow wide with excitement like a child being told he can finally go out and play with the other kids.

Giving his wife a quick kiss, Dan dashes off to join the planning committee of humanity’s strike back against the dead. There’s an extra bounce in his step as he heads off, she almost expects to hear him yell out with glee ‘I can go! I can go!’

“Thanks, mom,” Carla jokes to Heather, seeing the exact same imagery her friend does. Heather herself doesn’t look too enthusiastic over it.

“He’ll be fine if he’s in the next city, right?” she asks with concern. “All the dead will be in Breckinridge.”

“I’ll keep him safe,” Carla assures.

“Thanks. He needs this. He has to see it end or else he’ll never be able to relax.” Despite all the guarantees that her husband should be fine, distance from the dead, his accelerated healing and poison blood, the fact Carla will be right there, she still worries.

4

Rather than retake the southern end of Florida, the living will be heading into the upper United States first. The dead below them on the map are trapped on the peninsula with nowhere to go and can wait. Preparations are underway with light, fast vehicles being outfitted with large auxiliary fuel tanks that take up their entire back sections, the last thing the ‘Bait Cars’ will want to do is gas up when they have thousands of walking corpses following them.

The Marines are on board, after another visit by Lady Luck, to draw the dead from the west. She brought enough ‘bait’ to do the trick and issued instructions on how to use it. From their ranks she was able to raise volunteers quite easily, also needing pilots for the ‘end game’. Not only are bombers required, crop dusting planes will be useful if the grunts can find any.

The Rubies have assembled teams willing to take the long road trip, to visit different corners of the map, head up and down roads gathering as many wandering dead as they can and get them to the Midwest.

Tomorrow at first light the plan will be set into motion, they will head out drawing the dead like flies. Most of the volunteers can’t sleep, this is too exciting though they know the journey will be long and arduous. Their cars will not only be cramped, there will be no expectation of getting out until the job is done.

While some of the Rubies sit around a fire awaiting the break of day, they talk.

“So, he gets bit by a living zombie, who is suspected to have had quick regeneration also before she blew up. The girl was able to walk around and talk like normal, but had an incontrollable hunger for human flesh…” Rough Rider sums, “Now, if this weaker strain his body licked is only now giving him the ability to heal fast, what if the hunger is just delayed?” Rough Rider poses the question.

Try as they might to keep their conversation away from what’s on their minds, it keeps coming back to this.

“We don’t know, Rough,” Soul Train answers for the group.

After a moment of silence, Rough Rider asks another puzzler that springs to his mind. “How do we know we won’t get the same side effects since we all have his antibodies now?”

“What if we already have?” Soul Train turns his frustration into sarcasm. “The New Breed feed on the old style, both feed on us but not on their own kind. What if we all have the hunger now and aren’t interested in eating our kind?”

“Wow!” Rough Rider responds, he hadn’t thought of that. “How does eating the Sample 6 help the dead live longer? Does this Williamson guy want to eat the green stuff? And, if the stuff is in all of us, why would it matter if we got bit? Did getting bit activate the stuff?”

A groan passes through those trying to relax before the big mission. Rough Rider is simply trying to make heads or tails of it all, like everyone has since the onset. There are just too many questions and not enough answers. The closest thing to an expert on the topic is Bob-o and he’d be the first to tell anybody he simply doesn’t know.

“Hun,” Peace Maker says to her husband. “It’s better if we don’t over think the science. Take a page from my book and just accept the world as it’s presented to you.”

“Suspend my disbelief,” he acknowledges the logic of what she suggests with a nod. “But, how does his blood stop us from turning? It just cancels out the other stuff? And, how is it now zombie poison? Was it that way when he pulled through his fever? Do we know if anything other than that gator has bitten him?”

Another groan from the Rubies as they rise from their seats around the fire, now is as good a time as any to go to bed. Everyone leaves Rough Rider with his questions unanswered except for Peace Maker who encourages him to grab some sleep as well.

It’s questions like these that keep another survivor up at night. Major Barnwell has had all the same ponderings and more. He surprised the group of volunteers striking out tomorrow by being on board with their plan. He surprised them further when he said Dan Williamson could go without a fight. Deep down he hopes the man doesn’t return, for if he does a tough decision will have to be made and the Major doesn’t wish to make this call.