Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary (46 page)

Mecca
is gone. The people there never had a
chance. Once power was lost, the high temperatures and inability to get
supplies, particularly clean water, doomed them. A few of the Arab nations
attempted to purge the zombies – they had been declared unclean by fatwa – from
the city, but none came close. Their efforts accomplished nothing in the end,
save to speed the collapse of the
Middle East
. Forces that could have been used to
establish safe zones or fight back were thrown away.

Of the
majority Muslim nations, none have anything resembling continued civilization,
save where foreign military was involved. It had been impossible to recall the
soldiers stationed in the Middle East, so the generals and commanders withdrew
to their bases or hunkered down in the wilderness. Unwilling to shelter
refugees – they simply couldn’t care for the locals, especially when so many
were still doing their level best to kill them – they fought to hold on to what
they had.

After a
few weeks, when the vast majority of people were lying dead or shambling about,
the remaining units unified under American leadership. Despite most operations
being NATO or alliance based, the United States had sent a disproportionate
share of men and, as such, had most of the survivors. There are plans for the
Navy to evacuate them by sea in the spring. Unfortunately, I have no idea if
the Navy possesses enough ships, manpower, resources, and whatever else to
accomplish this.

On a
related matter,
Japan
is wrecked with over ninety nine
percent of the population presumed dead. The
imperial palace
in
Tokyo
was standing, although much of the rest
of the city had gone up in flames, and there were some mountainous regions that
appeared secure. American troops, mostly from the bases in
Okinawa
, had migrated over to assist the
Japanese defense forces. There was also talk of relocating all survivors to
smaller islands or possibly
Hawaii,
which was now largely empty of people
as well.

Russia
lingered on, with safe zones centered
on military bases, along with numerous towns scattered about
Siberia
and the heartlands. And there was news
that the Mongols had survived, this being due to the small population being
spread out over a large region. After the survivors cleared their immediate
area, there had been no zombies within miles, sometimes hundreds of miles to
take their place. Those still living a nomadic life or residing in isolated
communities had the time they needed to get organized, a very precious
commodity.

Within
the United States,
Alaska
was the best off.
Anchorage
and the southern cities had been
decimated.
Sitka
, situated on an island, had survived
with around fifteen percent of its original population still alive. The
northern and interior cities, particularly the smaller ones, were somewhat
intact, including
Fairbanks
which now had some ten thousand
residents. Alaska also declared itself an autonomous zone within the United
States due to
Washington
being unable to govern. Washington no
longer existed, so that was a bit of an understatement.

The
continental
states
did not fare
as well. Cities collapsed one after another, despite the government’s efforts.
Generally, the largest were the first to be overrun. Plenty of small towns,
mostly rural, had made it through the early weeks, but Stone only knew about
those with whom radio or personal contact was made.
Martin, South
Dakota
had not been
one of these, so it stood to reason that there were plenty more. Some enclaves
in urban areas survived as well, but those were hard pressed. Once the zombies
discovered one, the people within could expect thousands to lay siege.

The only
major metropolitan area hanging on was
Salt Lake City
in
Utah
. Over fifty thousand people from that
general area were still breathing. They had mostly abandoned the city itself
and, like the Swiss, moved to the mountains, aside from a force that kept
control of the Mormon Temple. A makeshift wall had been erected to keep zombies
from defiling it, and this compound was resupplied by helicopter. It was also
used as a staging ground to steadily clear the city of the dead.

Stone’s
best guess, buoyed by analysts he’d spoken with, was that from a world population
of just under seven billion at the time of the change, there were now twenty
million human beings still alive. Roughly half were in organized settlements,
most small. The rest were alone or in tiny groups. It was believed this number
would drop substantially during the winter.

As to
the sergeant’s personal story, there wasn’t much beyond what I’ve already said.
His unit remained in
St. Cloud
for nearly a month, until the number of dead coming out of
Minneapolis
grew too large to handle and they were
forced to relocate. At the same time, most of the soldiers assigned to them
were peeled off to protect a new safe zone to which the civilians had been
moved.

Stone
and a few others were ordered to set up their transmission equipment in the
most isolated, hard to reach spot they could find. While en route they were
hit, during the night, by several hundred zombies all marching silently down
the road. The sergeant was the only one to escape.

After
being found and taken back to Martin, Stone hooked up and modified a
transmitter they’d salvaged. He had just started work on boosting the range so
he could reestablish contact with the Army when the log ended. That was the day
Larry heard the call for help. The sergeant had been among the people of Martin
for just three days.

The log
book did indicate that some of the residents might have avoided the massacre. A
small team including Tara and Dale had departed a few days earlier to scout
north of town. They were to be gone for at least two weeks.

Chapter XIV

We
returned to the castle late in the afternoon, only a few minutes before sunset.
The drive back was rushed and tense, with everyone peering out the windows,
using binoculars to scan the horizon in an effort to catch any sign of life,
any indication that the raiders were nearby. Observing radio silence, we didn’t
call in as was the norm, and there were plenty of surprised looks when we
pulled up. I didn’t even attempt to park in the wooden enclosure, instead
leaving both Jeeps right outside the gate.

“Let me
grab some stuff,” said Briana. “Be nice and lend a hand.”

“I am
not a nice person,” retorted Lizzy.

“Yeah,
yeah, so you say, all the damn time. Get your ass over here.”

I left
them behind and with Lois and Mary in tow went to gather the others and let them
know what we’d found.

“You’re
back,” said Cherie, her face and tone a mix of pleasure and apprehension. She
met us just inside the castle’s walls.

“There’s
a lot to discuss,” I said.

“That’s
why I came right here when we saw you driving up the meadow. There have been
some talks recently about the leadership structure.”

My eyes
narrowed. “And these were held while I was gone? How nice of you.”

“That
wasn’t my fault,” she protested. “They just sort of bloomed during dinner, and
once it began, we went over things at length.”

I didn’t
believe a word of it.

“We
don’t have time for this nonsense Cherie. There are more important things that
need doing.”

“The
doing,” she snapped, interrupting, “is the problem.”

I
watched as some people removed themselves from view. They knew, or thought they
knew, what was coming and wanted no direct part. In the middle of the castle,
we were essentially alone.

“A vote
was held,” she continued, “and the majority, all but unanimous, was that Simon
and I become the leaders of our little community. This wasn’t personal against
you Jacob. Everyone likes you and appreciates the work you do scavenging and
bringing back food, clothes, medicine, and everything else.”

My ass
it wasn’t personal. I was getting really pissed at her and her smug attitude.
From the way Lois and Mary were shifting about beside me, I could tell they
felt the same.

“And we
absolutely want you to keep a position of authority and lead the expeditions
like you have been. You are very, very good at that.”

“Jacob’s
been good in charge too,” said Mary.

“No, he
hasn’t,” replied Cherie, condescendingly. “He’s almost never here. He doesn’t
deal with the day to day issues and problems. He doesn’t resolve the arguments.
He doesn’t smooth tempers when things get out of hand. We have to have a leader
who is here, inside the castle, at least the majority of the time.”

There
was a great deal of truth to that last part. I was gone pretty much always, and
I did neglect the day to day running of things. But then, I was never a micromanager.
I hated people like that. It was so much better to let someone else with the
talent and desire take care of the little things, and these were little things.
Keeping zombies away and making sure we had the supplies to get through the
winter were far more important.

“And
you’re too autocratic,” she continued, “giving orders all the time and just
expecting them to be obeyed.”

Cherie
had just lost whatever goodwill she’d fostered by presenting a logical reason
for the change. I was in charge, so of course I expected my orders to be
obeyed. But autocratic, that was nonsense. I barely gave any orders. Like I
just said, I do not micromanage. Other than seeing that the animals were cared
for, watches kept, and people behaved, I didn’t demand anything.

Still, I
never wanted to be in charge. I much preferred driving around seeing things,
distressing though the sights tended to be, and spending time with my friends.
Remaining day after day in our concrete box was simply too depressing. It was
something I could not tolerate, yet there was no way I would allow Cherie to be
in charge, ever. If anyone was likely to abuse power, it was her. No, that was
absolutely not going to happen. I would counter with a council of five adults,
something I’d considered on and off for the past month. It could have Cherie as
teacher, Eric as builder and maintainer of the castle, myself as scavenger, and
two others chosen at large by popular vote. The people would accept this – I
was sure of it – and Cherie would find it all but impossible to argue against
the proposal, not if she wanted to maintain the illusion of being reasonable.

“What
about Lizzy?” asked Lois. “She is second in command.”

“Yeah,”
demanded Mary. “What about her?”

“Lizzy,”
said Cherie flatly, casually tossing her long, dark hair back with one hand,
“will not be in a position of leadership, of any sort. Everyone, and I do mean
everyone, is tired of her perpetually bad attitude and demeanor. In their
words, they shouldn’t have to listen to a bitchy dyke any longer.”

Lois, in
an extremely uncharacteristic display of anger, hopped forward and slammed her
fist into Cherie’s jaw. The woman rocked back, striking the cinderblock wall
she’d been standing beside. I heard her head crack against it, and for a moment
I thought she might lose consciousness. No such luck. Dazed, Cherie awkwardly
drew a gun from behind her back. She always carried – most of the survivors did
– but used it so seldom that her action was unexpected.

Lois
pulled up short, shocked at this response. Mary, however, had her 9mm out in a
heartbeat and pointed it right at Cherie’s head. The older woman shifted her
aim toward the short, petite thirteen year old, and Lois jumped between them.

I did
not react in time to stop what happened, nor did I think of anything to say to
defuse the situation. My lack of action was shameful on both counts.

While
moving to shield her little sister, Lois bumped Cherie’s arm, and the weapon
discharged. I don’t think it was intentional, but the bullet still pierced the
center of her chest. For the briefest of moments we stood there in shocked
silence, and I saw, out of the corner of my eye, people begin to appear from
doors or in windows.

“They’re
trying to kill me!” shrieked Cherie. She fell back, intentionally sprawled on
the dirt, screaming. “Help! Someone help me!”

I
grabbed Mary and pulled her through the gate. Lizzy and Briana were already
running toward us.

“In the
Jeeps,” I said. “Go!”

“Where’s
Lois?” demanded Lizzy. Then she noticed the tears streaming down Mary’s face
and splatters of blood on her shirt. “Oh, God no.”

“Take
her and get out of here,” I ordered.

Lizzy
set her jaw. She wasn’t going to listen.

“You
have to protect Mary!”

That was
enough. We were in the vehicles and pulling away just as armed people began to
show up on the walls and come through the gate after us.

*
* *

We spent
the night in an abandoned house on the opposite side of the park. The place had
been discovered a couple of months earlier during a looting run. Only the five
of us were present at the time, so I doubted any of the people in the castle
knew it existed. Even if they did, they were unlikely to think to search for us
there. And since we kept most of our personal belongings in the Jeeps, both for
the easy storage and because we’d never gotten around to truly moving into our
so called townhouse, we were in good shape. Things had been left behind, but
for the most part, we retained those items we cared about and the majority of
our weapons, ammunition, and general survival equipment.

“Think anyone’s
coming?” asked Briana.

We had
covered the Jeeps, hidden behind the house, with some branches and fallen pine
needles. It wasn’t perfect, but if anyone came close enough to see, they might
think them abandoned vehicles. Probably not, since everyone knew what ours
looked like, but it was something to do and I’d needed the time to think.

“No,” I
replied. “Not yet. Probably never if they think we’ve run and are gone for
good. If we wanted we could be a hundred miles away by morning, in any
direction, and they all know it.”

By the
time we reached our hiding place, Lizzy was incensed. I’d seen her angry plenty
of times, more often than not, but this was something new and frightening. One
look at her eyes was all it took to realize there would be payback. Nothing
else was acceptable. For her part, Mary had been crying, body wracking sobs
that hurt all of us to watch. After the loss of her family, it had been Lois
whom she depended on. Lizzy, myself, Briana, we all watched out for her and
kept her safe, but Lois had been the one she was emotionally bound to, the one
person in the world she loved absolutely. Now she was gone.

“Inside,”
I said. “We’ll lock the door and set up in the back room, farthest from the
road. Single candle only with blinds pulled. I don’t want anyone noticing us
while we discuss matters.”

“You
shouldn’t have run,” began Lizzy, the moment we were indoors.

Briana
opened several tins of beef stew and dumped them in a metal bowl, adding some
spices to liven it up. I had no appetite, and I doubted any of the others did
either. It was probably just something to keep her occupied while Lizzy and I
held our most unpleasant conversation.

“No one
was around when it happened,” I explained. “After she shot Lois and started
screaming, others appeared. Our word against hers on what happened.”

“They
would not have listened to her!”

“Yes,
they would.” I shook my head. “She is far, far closer to the bulk of them than
any of us. We are always gone – she was right on that count – but she’s always
there. They may have doubted her. They may have decided she was lying in the
end, but they would have listened carefully and her words would carry a whole
lot of weight. Besides, everyone knows we’re shooters, and they know the two of
us have killed real people. We are capable of doing this. Cherie stays out of
fights whenever she can. She’s only fought zombies, what, once?”

“That’s
not why I grabbed Mary though,” I continued, before she could resume arguing.
“I hadn’t even thought about all the logical crap I just said, not at the
time.”

“What do
you mean?” asked the teenager.

Briana
slid a serving of the cold stew in front of her, but Mary didn’t touch it.

“You had
a gun in your hand,” I explained. “She was screaming that we were trying to
kill her. If we didn’t run, I… I think she would have shot you. People were
watching by that point, and you were aiming at her. If not her, someone else
might have done so.”

“She
could do it,” added Briana. “Even if you’re right about Cherie not intending to
kill Lois, the bitch is definitely capable.”

“That’s…”
Lizzy slumped in her chair. “Keeping the twerp safe was good.” Her face
hardened. “I’m not letting this go. I do not give a shit if Cherie meant it or
not. She drew first, and Lois didn’t even have a gun. No excuse for that. It
was her fault. Oh no, she’s going to pay for what she did.”

Mary
nodded.

“You
sure?” asked Briana. “Lizzy is talking about killing her. We have no jails, no
police.”

“I…”
Mary gave a second nod.

“We
won’t ever be able to go back,” I said.

“We
can’t anyway,” stated Lizzy, matter-of-factly.

“Probably,”
I conceded. “Running like we did makes us look guilty, my fault on that, but if
we do this we can never return. Even if the planets were aligned and we talked
our way back inside after dealing with Cherie, no one would trust us. We’d be
having to keep an eye on everyone until somebody finally got scared or paranoid
or angry and shot us all in the back.”

“We do
have friends there,” said Briana. “If we don’t go after Cherie directly, we can
get in touch with Dean and Eric, Steph and Alec, maybe even Larry. We can talk
to them, tell em what really happened.”

“No,”
countered Lizzy. “I’ll miss them, a few of them, but Cherie is going to die. I
don’t care if we do have to run away for real after that.”

“Lizzy’s
right,” said Mary. “No one saw what happened, not that I noticed. She’s going
to lie, and they’ll probably believe her. And even if we do convince them,
they’ll just say it was an accident, no one’s fault.” She started crying again.

I looked
over at Briana. She took a single bite of the stew and set the spoon down. Then
she nodded her assent. We were decided.

“All of
you,” I said, “pick up your bowls and eat. I don’t care if you want to or not.
Then we go to sleep. Tomorrow, we start planning.”

“Jacob,”
said Mary, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief and trying to regain some
control over her emotions, “I think Cherie maybe killed Julie too.”

“What do
you mean?”