Surviving The Dead: Heartland Zombie Apocalypse Vol. 1 (15 page)

The next several days of Percy's recovery were slow, but eventually his condition began to improve.  When she thought he was strong enough Mae tearfully told Percy about their daughter.  A couple of weeks later Percy was discharged to continue his recovery at home and Percy asked Mae to visit Dorothy's grave with him.  For the longest time Percy stood silently looking at Dorothy's grave with his

arm wrapped around Mae's shoulders.

Then with his voice cracking with emotion he said, “Liebchen I am so proud of you.  Mama has told me so much about you and how brave and strong you were after the accident.  I am so sorry I lost so much time with you and I miss you so very much.  I could not have survived in that camp if it wasn't for knowing that you and your Mama were waiting for me at home.”

Percy returned to service and in time became a drill sergeant.  He earned a reputation of being a total hard case, but his recruits were consistently recognized as being superior representatives of the Marines. When Percy finally retired the couple settled into a comfortable life.  They were enjoying there golden years until Mae began to become forgetful.  At first they shrugged it off as just growing older.  Than one evening out to dinner Mae excused herself to use the restroom and didn't return.

Their waiter came up to Percy and told him Mae was in the lobby,  “Percy thank goodness you are here.  I don't know what I'm looking for, I don't know where I am, I didn't know how to find you.”

Percy took Mae to the doctor the next day and he stated that she was in the early stages of alzheimers.  Over the next year things that were easy for Mae slowly slipped away.  Percy began to change routines so Mae was never alone.  Eventually even close friends became strangers to her and there were times that she would wake up next to Percy and scream at this strange man to get out of her bed.

There were some medications that helped slow the progression and others to help with her anxiety.  Fearing that he had little time left with Mae, Percy booked them a room in the resort that had now become their home.  Percy and Mae had come to the resort when Dorothy was three and the resort was being operated as a dude ranch.  Percy had hoped that Mae would be comforted by memories of a happy time they shared as a family.

It was a fortunate decision for Percy not only did this resort end up becoming a refuge for the survivors in a world taken over by the dead, but Mae was able to have a relationship with their daughter Dorothy through the young woman Crystal.  If they would have had a chance to see Dot grow up she would have resembled Crystal.  It was true that Percy saw Dot's inner strength in Crystal, however, more than anything it was a chance for him to be there when he was needed.

Today Crystal had come to him seeking help with the militia, but mostly looking for reassurance, “My dear I have trained many recruits and maybe vun in a tousand has your natural ability to take command.  Miss Landers, Mister McPherson, Mister Byrne and myself all saw you as the one to lead our militia.  We have many talented people here.  You, my dear, direct those talents.”

A week after the the original crew had returned from clearing a fifteen mile swath around their compound, events were proceeding on the next stages of the plan.  Blade, Hank, Justin and Amy each took command of a ten man patrol.  Blade and Hank's patrols were out for the week, to extend the safe zone about them to thirty miles. 

Justin and Amy's patrols spent a majority of their time training with the five patrols assigned to the compound.  Amy, as the munitions expert, was also spending time with Lois.  Lois was perfecting her mix of homemade napalm, to achieve the right balance of stickiness, heat and burn time.  Amy's job was to create an incendiary device that would ignite and deliver the burning gel on target.

After four days of testing at the lab, Lois declared they were ready for a “live” test.  The following day Crystal took out a team consisting of Mac, Amy, Lois, Bill and two of the security guards. Jason a brash and cocky young man and Alice a quiet and nondescript middle aged woman. The majority of the group was loaded into the suburban which was towing a horse trailer to be used to move some of the captive Dee's to the quarry.  Mick and Amy we're following in one of the jeeps which was towing a trailer filled with supplies to make the incendiary bombs.

On the trip over Crystal broke down the plan for Bill, Jason and Alice, “Above all else never do anything alone and never assume it is safe.  When we are loading the dead keep it quiet and no unnecessary moving around.”

When they arrived at the lab Crystal and Amy did a quick walk through and then had everyone unload.  Bill and Amy took guard.  Lois mixed a fresh batch of napalm assisted by Mac and Mick.  While, Crystal took Jason and Alice into the barn to start loading four of the captive Dee's.

As they walked into the barn Jason hooted out, “We're baaaack.” 

Once the dead creature was attached to the leads Jason again started up, “Yee haw git along little doggie.” 

As soon as the Dee was loaded into the trailer, Crystal asked Bill and Amy to help Alice with the next one and asked Mac to take guard with Mick. 

As soon as the others entered the barn Crystal slammed Jason up against the suburban with her baton jammed against his throat.  “What the hell was that in there.  Did I not tell you to be quiet?  Did I not tell you to keep it calm.  Those things are dangerous and you put everyone's life at risk.  Do you have an explanation mister.”

“I'm sorry.  I've never been that close to a dead one before and I was a little scared.  I guess I didn't want you to see how afraid I was”, explained Jason.

Crystal glowered at him, “Lives are at stake here, if you don't think you can do something I need to know. Do I make myself clear?”

“crystal”, Jason acknowledged.

“That is Captain to you”, retorted Crystal.

“I meant crystal clear Captain.”, Jason responded.

Crystal turned so Jason couldn't see her smile at her mistake.  Jason was saved a further dressing down when Mac called 'Dee'. 

Crystal replied to let him know she was on it and turned back to Jason, “Are you ready to take down your first Dee?” 

Jason nodded. 

“You need to do exactly what I tell you no hesitations.  Can you do that?”, Crystal queried.

Jason replied, “Yes Captain.  I won't let you down.”

Crystal began moving towards the Dee and filling Jason on the plan as they moved, “Walk a couple of steps behind me.  When I tell you hold your knife in your right hand.  When I say 'now' I'll move right and hook her neck.  You move left grab a big hand full of her hair at the back of her head and run you knife quickly into her ear.  Do you understand?”

“Yes Cap.”, Jason answered.

As they got closer Crystal began spinning her baton.  She had placed a red ribbon at one end and when she spun the baton the ribbon caught the eye of the Dee.  When they were parted by just a couple of steps Crystal yelled, “Now”, as she stepped to the right and hooked the Dee by the neck, with the crook of her baton.

Jason did as he was told moved left grabbed the Dee's hair and with only a brief hesitation ran his knife into its brain and it slumped to the ground. 

“Grab an arm and we'll bring this one along to the quarry with us too”, directed Crystal.

At the trailer Crystal had Alice help Jason load this last body in.  Jason recounted the kill to Alice, “You should of seen it Alice the Captain had that deadun completely under control.”

“You've made a new friend”, Bill remarked.

Crystal smiled, “Yeah he's still on the rush of his first kill”. 

“Bill I'm a little concerned about the time line on the strike on Lexington.  We can't have these guys freezing up or ignoring what they are told.  On the other hand I've convinced myself if we are going to find more survivors we need to start looking there.”, Crystal said her worry over Jason's earlier behavior obvious.

Bill and Crystal had spoken often enough on her vision for securing the area around them,  He had to agree that the more they could reduce the number of dead around them the safer they were from that threat.  He also had to agree that finding more survivors and surrounding themselves with satellite refuges would enhance their defenses.  Still it was an aggressive plan to go and clear a city the size of Lexington. 

Bill appreciated that Crystal expressed her concerns to him, “Percy seems pretty confident he can whip us into shape.  I do think the quicker we iron out the plan details the more often we can drill the mission.  As my coach always said practice makes perfect”

Once Amy finished assembling her bombs the group headed off to the quarry to test the impact on the Dee's they brought along.  At the quarry Jason and Alice were put on guard duty.  As Jason took his position he had Crystal's last words still ringing in his ears, “Make sure you are keeping watch over us and not watching us.  Understood?”

Jason quickly responded, “Yes Captain.”

Mick and Lois watched from the suburban, the fewer out in the open the better.  Bill assisted Amy and Crystal was filming the tests with Mac as her spare set of eyes.  The first test was on the corpse Jason had dispatched. 

They tied it upright to a post stuck in the ground and when everyone was clear Amy called out, “Fire in the hole”, and ignited the bomb.

Crystal was expecting some noise and a fireball, but was not prepared for the intensity of the blast.  Even at her distance the heat was enough to make her skin burn.  The wave coming from the blast blew her hair back.  For the first few minutes the corpse was engulfed in flames and smoke and completely obscured.  Eventually it came back into view.  The flames had stripped away it clothes and hair.  Much of the skin was starting to fall away and the stomach cavity fell open allowing the entrails to fall to the ground.

Crystal zoomed the camera in and focused on the head.  The ears and nose were completely gone and much of the flesh on the skull was cracked and pulling away.  As Crystal watched the muscle and tendons holding the skull gave way and the head slowly turned as if to look at Crystal.  The lower jaw opened as if preparing to bite and then gave way dangling by its tongue.  “Oh Shhh”

“What was that?”, queried Mac.

“Nothing I just wasn't prepared for it to move”, replied Crystal.

The next test was on a one of the captive Dee's and by the time the flames had died down its brain, boiled in the skull, had turned to a gelatin mess.

In the final test they bound the final three of their captive Dee's around the metal post.  Amy pulled out a fifth of Jack Daniels.  “I brought this along as an accelerant to hedge my bet a little, but I think we can spare a little to toast for luck.”

Each in turn took a silent swig from the bottle.  Crystal didn't drink often and then only beer or wine.  However, this seemed like a bonding moment even if the others did get a chuckle as she grimaced over the taste of the whiskey.

Amy up ended the bottle over the heads of the three and instructed the others to get safely away.  Once they were clear she called out for the final time, “Fire in the hole”, and  once again the flames did their work. 

After breakfast the militia and the council were asked to stay behind.  Crystal cued up the footage, “Yesterday we tested a new way to terminate the dead.”

The group cheered for each of the explosions at the end of the footage many stood up clapping and cheering.  Crystal gave them a few minutes to enjoy the moment and then quieted them with a loud whistle.

“In three weeks we are going to use this weapon to clean out Lexington.  It would be a big prize for us and maybe we can bring aid to other survivors.”, Crystal's voice broke a little with emotion and she paused a moment before continuing, “Right now the world belongs to the dead and we have been relegated to this tiny corner.  In three weeks the living strike back.”

The room again erupted in cheers and clapping.  Once again Crystal had to resort to a loud whistle to quiet the room.

“I appreciate all your enthusiasm, but this is far from a done deal.  My father was fond of saying, Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.  We have a lot of planning to do.  We need to find an ambush site.  We need to figure out how we draw the dead to the ambush site.”, Crystal had finished her footage with the corpse skull staring back framed by fire.  Pointing to that image with her baton, “Most of all we need soldiers who can take a stand against five thousand of these.”