Sirens of the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Since the Sirens (30 page)

Victoria let out a quiet whistle; she was impressed.

“I don't have much strength left in me, but Liam's dad fixed
those guns so even a weakling like me could fire them. I just set the
barrel on the frame of the car door, aimed, and let 'er rip. It
wasn't really hard at all.”

“The hardest part was that I had no strength to get out and
tend to Liam. I let him lay there on the ground. Out cold. Time went
by and I couldn't hold the gun anymore so I put it back in the
backpack, and promptly fell asleep. I have no idea how long we were
both out.”

“He came to at some point. Climbed back in. And away we
went. Liam was none the wiser about what had happened.”

“Why didn't you tell him you killed that man? Wouldn't he be
really proud of you?”

“I go back and forth. I guess I feel at this point I'm old
enough I don't want him to get ideas about doing crazy things to save
me because he sees me as some heroic granny.”

“Well you are pretty heroic!”

“This,” she swept her arms to signify she was talking
about the world at large, “isn't about heroics. It's about
carefully thinking how to survive. Nothing is going to be easy ever
again. Security. Food. Shelter. You can't just run around the world
shooting guns and being heroic. Eventually it’s going to catch
you. They,” she pointed off into the distance behind the train,
“will catch you.”

She waiting a long time again before sharing her last piece of
advice. “I didn't tell him I shot that man because Liam won't
survive this world if he thinks there will always be someone there to
take care of him.” She said it in a most serious tone, but
ended on a lighter note, “Even if there is.” She turned
and gave Victoria her trademark wink.

As the train clanged along the tracks, the sun was starting to
make its presence known, though it was still below the horizon. They
were able to see the factories and industrial barge facilities they
were passing as they rode the rails down the west bank of the
Mississippi River. Graffiti was also popular in this section of town.

The could both see Liam sitting at the very back of the platform,
looking behind them.

Marty had one final thought to share with her young friend.

“I hope this isn't too forward to say, but I'm old and don't
have time for subtlety anymore.” She chuckled at that.

“Liam is quite taken with you. I guess you could figure that
out after what he yelled back in that train depot. You are very
pretty of course, and you have a good heart. I have my own reasons
for liking you.” Here she paused. “Any boy his age would
find you quite the catch. Normally I wouldn't even think of saying
this, but times are not normal by any stretch of the imagination.”

“Amen.”

“I truly hope you and Liam become good friends and that
you'll be in his life a long time. But while I'm still around, please
know that if Liam is ever forced to make a choice between saving you
or saving me, I'm going to make sure he picks you. Do you understand
what I'm saying my dear?”

Victoria nodded, then added, “Thank you. Truly. We have been
through so much already, though romance just isn't really on my mind
right now. Maybe if we get somewhere safe where I can think about
more than zombies, looters, or the plague we can talk about a future.
We just have to make sure Liam never gets put into that position
where he has to choose. I want us all to survive and be happy.”

“So do I dear. So do I.”

But Marty had laid it down. And now that she had, she couldn't
help but wonder if she had the strength to make good on the
implications of her statement. She always came back to suicide. Her
religion forbade killing oneself; it was considered a major sin. But
if the choice came down to saving herself or saving Liam and Victoria
by sacrificing herself, she believed God would understand her
motives.

Dear Lord. Please help Liam and Victoria survive this plague.

The train clanged on.

Sunrise on day four was minutes away.

Liam was still staring off the back of the train when he felt it
decelerate. The light of the morning was still growing as the sun
nearly peeked on the horizon. He was hoping to see the sunrise riding
the train to safety, but it didn't look like that was going to
happen.

The train had been moving at ten or fifteen miles per hour, still
pushing the dead engine in front at a virtual crawl, but thankfully
much too fast for the zombies to easily keep up. He could see them
here or there come stumbling out of the buildings on his left. They
tried to reach the train but they fell behind, screaming that they
missed the rolling stock of humans rumbling by.

I wonder if they will follow us even if they can't see us?

Another mystery of the Zombie Apocalypse.

He stood up and moved around the tractor-trailer so he could see
where the train was stopping. To his surprise it was slowing down as
it approached the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, which carried a major
interstate across the Mississippi River. It was also the most
southern bridge in the St. Louis area. The last bridge over the river
for many miles, at least as far as Liam could recall. There were no
cars crossing it now, though it was very clear to him soldiers were
sitting on the span; many were looking over the side at the
approaching train. Not too far above the bridge were two small, thin
aircraft—Liam thought they were drones—flying in tight
circles above.

He walked over to Victoria and Grandma, both still sitting near
the wheels of the front trailer.

Liam couldn't help himself. The early morning ambient light put
Victoria in a soft glow that was almost magical. Sure she was pretty
in any light, but right now she was covered in lots of dust and soot
from being around the railroad tracks since yesterday and she still
made Liam's heart re-adjust inside his chest. The light even took the
harsh swelling of her lip and cheek and evened them out.

He wondered to himself if she liked him, or tolerated him because
she had no better prospects in this catastrophe. The insecure side of
his heart said she wouldn't have given him the time of day in any
other situation, but the pragmatist in him said she has had plenty of
opportunities to ditch him and Grandma and traipse off with people
and groups more prepared than him.

On balance he accepted that she probably stuck with him because
she liked him, at least as a friend. A “fall-of-civilization
friend.” He hadn't had time to really contemplate more with
her, though he knew he'd never turn her down if she wanted to kiss
him, however briefly.

They had made a good team so far, and there was no reason to doubt
she was going to stick with him for as long as it took to reach a
safe destination—assuming one could ever be found. Naturally
that led him to think about what he would do if they never found a
respite. What if they had to be together for much longer?

Alright Liam. Stay focused on the here and now.

He finished his thought by agreeing with himself that indeed, she
really was pretty.

“You two look like you're conspiring.”

The two had been conversing in low tones, but he was unable to
glean any sense of what they were saying. They clammed up before he
was close enough.

“Hey Liam. Grandma and I were just talking about when you
were a little baby. How you'd wear your diapers. That sort of thing.”
She gave Grandma a smile and then turned and gave Liam a smile and a
wink.

Liam was near to feigning embarrassment when he saw her face had
become black and blue in many spots. She had two black eyes to go
with her cheek and swollen lips.

He still thought she was beautiful, but he was serious when he
knelt down to look at her face.

“My god, your face. Are you doing OK?”

“Thanks. Yeah, I'm fine. It still hurts a bunch, but I have
both my eyes and my face will return to normal soon enough.”

Liam had a dark vision of that man punching this girl's face and
he suddenly felt a wave of violent feelings. He wasn't sure what he
was feeling when he realized that man was dead.

“I don't have any serious meds to help you. Just some
Ibuprofen. Can't hurt right?”

He was already in his backpack, pulling out three or four
rust-colored caplets. He passed them to her as she switched to the
task at hand.

“Do you know why they're stopping the train?”

“I think the Army is stopping us. I can see them up on this
bridge.”

Victoria looked at Grandma and made sure she was comfortable, and
then stood next to Liam so she could see them too. She gave him a
chuck on the shoulder and then said, “Let's go check it out.”

There were no undead in the immediate area. This piece of railroad
was mostly empty riverbank on one side, and a steep escarpment
covered in trees on the other. Liam knew by the location of the
bridge the area up the hill was the massive Jefferson Barracks
National cemetery. As a fan of zombie books and movies, he noted the
irony that the one place you don't find them in real life is the
cemetery. Zombies don't rise from the dead, nor do they find living
people hanging out there. Maybe that is where they should hide? He
saved that idea for later.

There were a few walkers well behind the train, but otherwise it
looked pretty safe to step off. A few men and women ran back to
provide security for the stopped train.

Victoria climbed off first, with Liam close behind.

Jones called down to the pair to ask where they were going, but
once they told him he laughed. “I'll stay back here. Someone
has to keep your Grandma from running off!”

Grandma could be heard chuckling and saying something to the big
man, though they were too far away to hear the soft-spoken woman.

As they started walking, they saw many people up the line of train
cars had the same idea. Many were taking the opportunity to stretch
their legs and get out of the cramped cars. The empty coal cars were
a popular model to escape. People tried to find better options with
more room.

Liam and Victoria were only tangentially aware of that drama. They
were trying to get a better feeling for the cause of the stoppage and
what the Army might want with a train full of refugees.

Because they were looking forward, they noticed one man drift
further outside the orbit of the crowd, and then continue on into the
woods. He was apparently going to ascend the escarpment to gain
access to the bridge above them.

“Was that your friend Hayes?”

“Let's go find out.”

They walked up to the front of the train, where the passengers
were thickest—most of the coal cars were toward the front. Then
they noticed a small trail leading to the hillside, and they plunged
in. Whoever was going up this hill would be easy to follow on such an
obvious pathway. They could even see him well up the path, very near
the top.

“That is definitely Hayes.” Liam was sure of it now
that he could see the man's clothing. The same suit pants and shirt.
He couldn't see it from this direction, but he could visualize his
ugly tie.

“Do you think he stopped the train?”

“I don't know, but we need to find out. Maybe he knows how
we can get out of the city.”

Victoria echoed his own thoughts as she plowed up the trail ahead
of him.

“Truck driver my butt.”

2

As they reached the top of the hillside, level with the decking of
the bridge, they moved cautiously so as not to be seen. Liam didn't
think Hayes ever turned around to see if anyone was following, but
they couldn't make any assumptions.

Hayes had walked about 100 yards onto the northern span of the
bridge. This put him about a quarter of the way over the river, and
well beyond the ability of Liam and Victoria to hear what he was
saying. The span itself was completely empty, so there was no
possible way to avoid detection if they tried to pursue him.

“Should we try to get closer? I don't see how we could.”

Liam was also looking at the situation and didn't see any options
available to them. He then took in the whole scene, which he hadn't
noticed when trying to catch up to Hayes.

They were crouched at the very end of the decking, partially
behind the concrete side railing. To their right, a massive barricade
was set up with tractor-trailers, concrete road barricades, orange
construction barrels, and some shipping containers tossed off to the
sides of each lane and median to prevent cars from having any
approach to the bridge. Liam couldn't see anything just on the other
side of the barricades, but he could see cars were parked on the
highway in front of the blockade as far as they could see.

“Odd that there aren't people swarming this bridge. You
think the military is shooting people over here?”

Victoria looked around before replying. “Maybe the zombies
swarmed through here and chased them all off?”

Liam didn't like either answer. If the people were run off because
of the zombies, where'd they go?

One problem at a time.

They both turned their attention back to the man they were
following.

Hayes was in front of a line of Army humvees, though even from
here Liam could see they were not letting him get very close. A lone
person had come out to meet him, and he or she was wearing a yellow
biohazard suit.

“It doesn't look like they want to get close to him. Does
that mean they think he has the plague? He didn't look sick.”

“If he has it, we all have it. He's been with us for two
whole days now.”

Victoria's answer troubled Liam in a myriad of ways. The most
tragic was the thought of his friend having the plague. Someone so
vibrant and young should never have to suffer from this disease. He
thought back to his very first encounter with the Yoga lady. She also
typified the young and the vibrant, and it still took her. That event
horrified him, but would pale immediately if Victoria got it. Could
he kill his new friend?