The Reanimates (Book 3): The Escape (7 page)

Once inside, Trent placed the walkie on the kitchen table and Lucas put the box next to it. Trent read the letter to himself one more time then stood there, staring at the walkie.

"I don't know what to think about this, guys," Matt finally said, breaking the silence. "What if it's a fishing scheme? You know, sorta like when you responded to spam mail in the past and all that did was confirm you were there?" Tyreese put his hand out for the letter, and Trent handed it over to him.

"Well, they clearly already know we are here,” Tyreese said, “They left this in the road outside a closed gate that wasn't there a couple months ago." Ty turned the paper over to look at the back and then flipped it back to the front when he saw it was blank. "I don't know really that we have any choice other than to connect with them. Worst case, we learn that our new neighbors are a bunch of jerks and we have to be super cautious with them. The best case is that we find that there are people like us that might be looking to start a trade route or something."

Trent nodded his head in agreement. "I really don't like that they know more about us than we do about them, to be honest. I think that if we want to level the playing field a hair, we need to talk to them. I hate that they know exactly where we are but we don't have a clue where they are." Trent stood quietly for a moment, then added, "Well, it occurs to me, most of the council is here right now. Since this has a time table of a few hours, and we can't call on Kristen or my dad to hear their vote, we might as well decide on it now. Lacey, if you act on behalf of Kristen, and Lucas, if you act on behalf of my dad, we can still make this a fair decision."

"I don't really see any other option than to go ahead and face the fear of talking to other people. We need to just do it and just be done with it." I commented. Lacey and Tanya nodded.

"Well, worst case is that these guys will try and take our stuff by force. It's not like we really have a whole lot to lose at this point anyway. The kids are safe in Idaho, so let's grab the bull by the horns and do it." Lucas added.

"I knew you were a good choice to have talk on behalf of my dad. You sound just like him right now." Trent laughed, and the rest of us joined in. We unanimously agreed that it would be best to go ahead and talk.

We just hoped that we weren't opening a can of worms that couldn't be sealed again.

Radio Hello

The sun hung low in the sky, like a heavy weight that the heavens refused to hold up any longer. It was almost time for the first ever discussion with our mystery people, and the tension in the room was nearly palpable. No one said a word as we kept looking out of the window to see if it was time yet for our meeting. I don't know about the rest of the group, but I kept imagining the worst case scenarios with this, but another part of me was trying to hang on to the hope that we were going to have a good experience here. Hadn't we already had more than our fair share of the bad stuff already?

The room that we were in started to glow with brilliant oranges and reds, painting the walls with the warm glow that no can of paint could ever match. Trent was holding the radio in his hands, and he was staring at the dials on the box like it was a loaded gun that needed to be treated with great caution.

"Here goes nothing," Trent breathed out as he clicked on the device. He twisted the channel knob until the LCD display said the number five. The radio emitted a sharp hiss of static. We sat in a circle staring at the radio as we waited for some sort of feedback that the other side had connected as well. I wasn't the only one that sat chewing on my nails while we waited. In less than a minute the hiss changed to a softer sound, and we sat frozen in the moment. A soft squelch came over the tinny speakers followed by a male voice.

"Wilsall, come back?"

"What do we say?" Lacey asked in a whisper, her blue eyes were as large as saucers, and I imagined that she was a perfect match for my own expression. It seemed like she wasn't actually expecting anything to happen in this session. Part of me didn't really think that anything would happen either. I thought that they would just turn it on to see if we would follow instructions, then leave us some other letter.  While we were waiting, I was trying to decide whether or not that would be a better choice to hope for, but a bigger part wanted to have it over with, and now the possibility wasn't there anymore.

"Well, I guess we say hi, right?" Lucas replied, his voice just above a whisper as well, almost like he was afraid they would hear us if he spoke any louder. Trent nodded.

Trent pushed the button down and replied, "Wilsall responding. Hello."

"Wilsall, it's good to hear your voice. How are you this evening? Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?" The man on the other end of the radio responded. He spoke with a kind, yet confident tone.

"Um, well, we're fine. How are you?" Trent's voice matched his puzzled expression, and his expression was most repeated across everyone in the room. I don't think anyone expected that the mystery people were going to remark on the weather.

The man on the other end laughed warmly. "We're just happy to hear another person other than ourselves. I'm sure you have a few questions about this whole thing, don't you? Sorry about the cliché weather question, I'm a bit out of practice on the small talk myself." He let the button go and let the radio hiss for a few seconds. We looked at each other trying to decide if we should say anything just yet when the radio came back to life. "I suppose I should introduce myself first. I'm Jack. We have a little settlement not too much out of Clyde's Park. There are about forty or so of us out here, and we're doing okay. Noticed that there was a bit of traffic out there with all of those shipping trucks going by for the last little bit, so we took a trip up the road and saw that you guys are moving in. Gotta say, we kind of figured that we were going to be the last folk up here, and well, we wanted to make sure that you guys aren't coming up here to cause trouble. What are you up to?" He held on to the button for a moment longer before he let go, and I wondered if he maybe regretted asking his question.

We looked at each other with surprise. It didn't really occur to me that people thought we could be the trouble makers. I was a little worried that maybe we moved in a little too close to this group, the road sign for Clyde's Park wasn't that far away from where we were now, if I recalled. I hoped that we hadn't taken anything in the area that they had eyes on, or crossed some line in the sand that we didn't even think to look for.

"Well, Jack," Trent began, "let me start with this. You're right, it is nice to hear someone other than ourselves. I'm Trent, and I have several members of my group here with me right now. No, we aren't here to cause trouble, although I suppose only time will be able to prove that. We were surprised ourselves to find out that we aren't alone, and if we're being honest here, we're a bit defensive here ourselves on your intentions of talking to us, although I have to admit, I can see where you might see us as the threat since you were here first..." Trent let go of the button for a moment before pressing it back down. "What would you like to know about us?"

"Tell us more about you, like what kind of people you are, stuff like that."

"We're a group of six families. We've been calling Idaho home for the last little bit and we have been feeling more than a little cramped so we came out here to get some space and start over. New beginnings and all."

"Heh, yeah the space out here is nice isn't it? It's why I moved out here before the zombies. Where else can you find emptiness and peace like this? I looked into Wisconsin for a while, since I had this picture in my head of having a farm, but the lack of landscape would have made me crazy. The mountains nearby are breathtaking, and some seem to have snow on them year round. We were so isolated that we were able to make a stand here and keep our heads above water. For a while, we thought that this whole thing would just blow by. One of my neighbors was, well is, a rancher that has been able to keep several of the animals alive, and that has saved our bacon. My advice to you guys is to get some animals so you can have something sustainable. Have you guys ever been to Montana before this?"

"Honestly, no. Most of us are from California. My sister was the one living in Idaho, she has a bit of a green thumb, so we are looking forward to planting around here, but I guess that's the extent of our plan so far."

"So you guys don't know a whole lot about running a farm? That's alright. We might be able to help you out there. Let me warn you right now. The winters here are tough. There may not be a lot of snow that stays around, but since we're so isolated, there aren't a lot of things that you may be used to. Keeping the animals alive will be a project, but like I said, we can help out on that. What we can't help you with is with medical, so you have to stay healthy. Bigger areas have well stocked medical centers and pharmacies on every corner, but we don't. When people get sick in these parts, it's harder to cope with. Before, we relied on medical transports with helicopters or ambulances since we're so remote. Our biggest non-zombie loss has been from people getting sick. There aren't a ton of medical supplies, and there aren't any doctors left who would know what to do with them anyway, so be careful."

"Well, Jack, I'm about to make your day. We happen to have a nurse in our group, and another that knows a lot about homeopathic medicines. Maybe we can set up some sort of trade agreement between our groups and make life better for everyone."

"When you guys are settled in, I think we will definitely have some business to do. Thank you, it's nice to have something to look forward to." Jack's voice had a definite lift in it. I could hear indistinct chatter in the background when Trent said that we had resources that they needed that matched the hope we felt when they said they had knowledge on animals. Our whole game plan was going to be dependent on fishing and gardening and I wasn't sure it was going to be enough. If their group had a way to make things more sustainable then we had a chance as well.

"Same here, Jack. It will be nice to know someone who has knowledge of the land already."

"Well, I have taken enough of your time, I just wanted to get a feel for you guys. I look forward to talking to you in the future. It's a real pleasure knowing we are getting good neighbors. We'll talk to you later. Jack, out."

"Night, Jack."

The original hiss sound of a disconnected radio came back over the speaker and we knew that we were no longer on the same frequency of Jack and his people. We sat together in a stunned silence. I was blown over by how natural that whole conversation felt. It was such a relief to be done with the fear we had felt, and we bathed in the feeling of peace.

Tyreese was the first to speak after we all had a moment to digest our thoughts.

"Well, I am so grateful that went well. I do have to point out one thing though, that could have gone the total opposite direction. I have been kicking myself ever since that box showed up. Our complete lack of security could have meant the end of us. We let the various tasks we have been working on overrun our common sense. We have no idea if there have been other people wandering by. We only know about these guys because they left evidence for us. I hope that this Jack guy will let us know if we have anything to worry about with any other locals, but that would depend on him knowing about them as well. Guard duty is something we need to have put in place on very short order." We all agreed.

"I have a question,” I started, “because it has been on my mind for the last few days. What will it take to be ready to move everyone in?" I had been trying to catalog a to-do list since Trent and Jack started talking about a trade of services, and just couldn't imagine that there was that much left.

"We mostly just need to test the walls, make sure we didn't leave any gaping holes, and make sure that the temporary bus gates will hold, then it's just a matter of making the houses clean enough to live in." Trent replied.

"Well, here is my thought then, let's work on the wall tests and turn the school into a temporary hotel. Everyone can work on their houses from there. I'm thinking if we speed up this timetable, we won't have to divide our security and resources over two states and we could have some of this stuff done so much quicker. I don't want to rush it if we aren't all the way ready though, because the last thing any of us needs is to have to endure any more losses that would have been preventable if we had been more careful."

"Cali, I think that is a fantastic idea. I wish we had thought of that sooner," Tanya said, with a sparkle in her eye, "because, yes, that's exactly what we need to do. DaWayne has been chomping at the bit to be back to work in security on a bigger scale than we have been, and I know all the kids can't wait to have room to work up a full head of steam again, not to mention that little garage that was there, I know the older boys will want to start in there as soon as possible. I think in the morning, we should start to work on the wall checks, and just pull the trigger on this."

Lacey nodded emphatically before adding, "I agree. It's a bit like waiting to be ready for a baby, this move. You can only be so prepared. There will definitely be things that we'll wish we had done first, but as long as the big parts are taken care of, we'll be alright. Besides, many hands make for light work, right? I'll be thrilled to have help getting these houses cleaned out." Light chatter erupted in agreement. We were all feeling pretty positive over the idea, and I couldn't wait to have Drew with us again. I couldn't wait to see all of their reactions at the creek.

It occurred to me that we hadn't taken Lacey and Tanya to our creek yet, so under the light of the full moon, that was what we did. They were as entranced with the beauty of the water as I was sure they would be. We had been storing the gear next to the water anyway so we pulled them out and fished for a while and let the sounds of the night keep us company while we talked about the future that was coming up. We discussed making trenches to route water from the creek to the rest of the town. That was going to be a ton of work but it was hopeful work.

We saw a future and a life that didn't revolve around the zombies. We were going to be able to go to bed without hearing them scratch at the fence and we were going to be able to actually move around in our own homes without tripping over everyone else. We weren't ever going to go back to a pre-zombie life, but we were going to finally have something that was very, very close.