The Reckoning - 02 (46 page)

“But sure as night turns day, Ends the passion play
Oh my god what have they done
With madman's rage, well they dug our graves
But the dead rise again you fools.”

-
         
Flogging Molly

-
         
What’s Left of the Flag

It was full-on dark before we went back below ground for the night. I just wanted to be under the stars and take in some fresh air. I also wanted to take a walk up to the west side of the perimeter and take a peek at the interstate. Spec-4 and I walked along the inside of the fence, staying alert for any possible breaches or signs of zombies. I was happy to see we found neither. The crew had done well on reinforcing the fences.

The good news was that the explosion earlier had caused quite a few of the zombies on the interstate to head off towards the source of the noise. That was great, since it meant a few hundred less of the dead on our back doorstep. Anything that drew them away from us was great in my book. So long as the dead didn’t discover where we were at, things might actually stay relatively safe for us.

By the time we returned to the below ground entrance, I could smell food cooking. That suited me just fine. I was definitely hungry enough to eat almost anything. Well, anything that wasn’t an MRE, that is. Fortunately, MRE’s weren’t on the menu. They were grilling up burgers, hotdogs and steaks from the frozen section of the warehouse. Ordinarily we wouldn’t eat so extravagantly, but tonight we were celebrating the new arrivals.

I joined my kids at a table and my wife slid onto the bench next to me.
It felt good to have a quiet family moment. The only strange part of it was that all of us were armed and with the exception of my wife, wearing body armor. The boys had taken to their new tasks with smiles on their faces. They had always been good about helping out around the house when we asked, but this was different. I was proud at the maturity that they were showing through all of this.

             
Karen still wasn’t happy that she was carrying a weapon, but she still had it on. Unfortunately, this was our reality now. The world was entirely too dangerous to walk around unarmed. Even without the dead, the
Freemen
were preying on people. There was an entire busload of survivors who could attest to that. If humanity was going to survive the zombie apocalypse, it was first going to have to survive itself.

             
The food was good and it felt great just enjoying the company. By the time I’d finished eating, even the new arrivals seemed relaxed. They were safe with us and they were starting to feel it. It would take time before some of them trusted anyone again, but that was completely understandable. The
Freemen
had made certain of that.

             
While the trash and dishes were being collected, Ramirez surprised the group by bringing out an old banged-up guitar and striking up a tune. It was one I wasn’t familiar with, but the rhythm was obviously Latin. It was sad and kind of uplifting at the same time. I could tell from the tune that it was an old song. The classical style was soothing to hear. Ramirez’s fingers flew like lightning up and down the neck of the guitar, playing amazingly well. It was just the kind of thing we needed.

             
When he finished, everyone cheered. Ramirez was grinning from ear to ear at the praise. He should be, though. He was damned good. When he turned towards me, I gave him a big smile and applauded him. He gave me a mock bow and a wink.

             
“Hey, Wylie,” he called. “What’s the name of that song you like so much? The one you sang at my Christmas party last year.”

             
I remembered the song and the party all too well. I hadn’t intended to sing it to the crowd. I merely had too much to drink and didn’t realize how loudly I was singing. I was almost finished before I realized everyone was listening to me. It was embarrassing, to say the least. My grandfather had taught it to me as a kid and would sing it to me before tucking me in at night. It was one of my favorites.

             
“What about it?” I asked, dreading the answer.

             
“I’ll play it if you’ll sing,” he replied, grinning.

             
My kids immediately started chanting, “Sing! Sing! Sing!”

             
Southard, Spec-4, Sanders and Gunny took up the chant. Reluctantly, I stood up and raised my hands in the air in surrender. A few people cheered and some clapped as I headed over to Ramirez. Gunny and Sanders both slapped me on the back as I passed by. Spec-4 just gave me a smile. Southard handed me a small cup of bourbon and I tossed it back with a sigh. With the added liquid courage, I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

             
“You sure you remember the tune?” I asked as I approached.

             
“No problem,
mano
,” he replied. “I downloaded the song the day after the party so I could learn it. It’s a pretty song.”

             
“OK, then,” I said, “let’s do it.”

             
The room fell silent as Ramirez began strumming his guitar in the old familiar tune. When he reached the right spot I joined in, doing my best to stay on key.

             
“Oh, Danny-boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling. From glen to glen and down the mountain side…”

             
I lost myself in the song. It held so many memories for me. There were memories of my grandfather, who passed when I was a small boy. Memories of my father, who never got to meet any of my sons. He died just before my oldest son was born. Then there were the memories of singing the song to my kids when they were small. I’d rock them to sleep singing it, or tucking them in at night.

             
When I finished singing, tears were flowing down my cheeks. To me, the song had come to symbolize all the good times in my life and reminded me of all that we had lost. Family, friends, homes, so much loss and death. Yet despite the loss, here we were together. United together in order to survive. It also symbolized the hope that I held for the future of my family. For the future of us all. Together, we will find a way to not only survive, but to build a new life.

             
The Underground was a good place to start, but we weren’t meant to live in caves. Our ancestors had given up caves millennia ago, and I had no intention of going back to living in one. Well, not for any longer than was absolutely necessary. We’d ride it out down here for a while, possibly until next spring, but eventually we were going to have to find someplace we could call our own.

             
When we returned to our quarters, Karen and I walked arm in arm like we had when we were young and dating. The boys just laughed at us, but I could tell they were happy. We were all still together, despite it all. We let the boys hit the shower first, while Karen helped me out of my armor. Even though I hadn’t been shot in a while, I still had lots of bruises, aches and pains.

             
Once the armor was off and my gear was stowed, we took our turn in the bathroom. We showered together for the first time in a long time. She massaged my shoulders and washed my back. I washed her, well, never mind what I did. By the time we emerged from the showers, I was freshly shaved and groomed. My goatee was getting a bit long, but it didn’t look bad. In fact, I thought it looked pretty good with the shaved head.

23 April

             
It felt like I had no sooner hit the pillows when I was brought out of a sound sleep by someone calling my name. It was dark in the room but then again, it’s always dark when you’re below ground. The light flickered on and Karen sat up beside me. She held the covers against her and I could see her naked back. Then I realized it hadn’t been her calling my name. It was Southard.

             
“Wylie,” he said, “sorry to bother you guys. There’s something going on. You’d better come take a look.”

             
“Give me a minute to get dressed,” I mumbled. “Where can I meet you?”

             
“Come to the Hive, ASAP,” he replied. “You might want to grab your gear.”

             
That woke me up in a hurry. Whatever was going on, it was serious. Once Southard left the room, I slipped out of our bed and started grabbing clothes. Karen had already laid out fresh clothes for me, for in the morning. I started slipping on the underwear and pants.

             
“Honey, what’s going on?” asked Karen, her voice thick with sleep.

             
“I’m not sure,” I replied, “but it’s bad enough that Southard woke me up at…”

             
I glanced at my watch.

             
“…a little after two in the morning.”

             
“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked, letting the covers drop.

             
“No, babe,” I replied. “Get some sleep. You need to be here with the boys.”

             
I leaned over and kissed her and reluctantly pulled the covers back up. She lay back down and was asleep almost instantly. We’d only been asleep for less than three hours. I finished putting on a fresh black uniform. It felt good to be back in my Sheriff’s department blacks instead of the Army ACU’s. By the time I slipped my body armor back on, I was wide awake and starting to worry about what it could be.

             
I grabbed my weapons and quickly checked my ammo. Satisfied that I was loaded and ready to go, I shouldered my rucksack and headed out the door. I glanced back at Karen sleeping peacefully as I switched off the light and headed out of our quarters. Once outside, I could see there was quite a bit of activity going on inside the Underground, even at this hour.

             
I headed towards the Hive at a trot, quickly covering the distance. When I walked through the door, Josh handed me a cup of steaming coffee. I gladly accepted it, sipping as I followed him into the main security room. Several people were already gathered around the monitors. John Banner, Southard, Gunny, Spec-4 and Jade were sipping coffee of their own and looked up when I came into the room.

             
“Alright,” I said, “what the hell is going on?”

             
“I kept an eye on that guy you called Shades,” said John Banner, “just like you asked.”

             
“What did you find?” I said, dreading the answer.

             
“See for yourself,” said Gunny. “We waited for you to see what you wanted to do about it.”

             
On the monitor, I could see a figure crouched behind what I recognized as the guard shack at the top of the ramp. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but he was holding something up to his ear. It looked to me like he was on a phone or a…

             
“Radio!” I snapped. “The fucker’s on a radio.”

             
“Yeah,” said Josh. “I’ve been using my scanner to monitor him. He’s trying to reach the
Freemen
. So far, no one has responded to his calls.”

             
“I knew it,” I said, punching my right fist into my left palm.

             
“The question is,” said Spec-4, “what do we do about it?”

             
“We get up there and shut his ass down,” I replied. “We can’t afford a traitor in our midst.”

             
“What if he denies it?” asked Southard. “What proof do we have?”

             
“Quit thinking like a cop, Chuck,” I replied. “We’re not building a case for court. He got caught red-handed. Josh even heard him calling for them on the scanner. He can deny it all he wants, he’s still busted.”

             
“So what are we going to do with him?” asked Josh. “We can’t just shoot him.”

             
“Well technically, yes we can,” I replied. “It all depends on him.”

             
I took a long pull off of my coffee and picked up my M-4. Josh grabbed his own weapon and stood up to go with me. Spec-4 was right behind him.

             
“You sure you want to do this?” I asked Josh.

             
“I have to,” he said with determination. “He was one of mine. I need to be there when we confront him.”

             
“Fair enough,” I said. “Let’s roll.”

             
The three of us headed out of the Hive and across the parking lot. I could have taken the Humvee up the ramp, but it was quieter to walk. Besides that, there’s no point in wasting fuel. We stuck to the shadows as we climbed the ramp to the main gate. As we reached the top of the ramp, I could see he was still where we’d seen him on camera. I motioned for the others to remain quiet as we approached him. There was a full moon out and it illuminated the area very well. It also left large pools of deep shadow to hide in.