Winter Apocalypse: Zombie Crusade V (4 page)

“You and your brother are both damn bossy,” Jack grumbled half-heartedly. “I can see why you’ve always fought like cats and dogs.”

“My cats and dogs have always gotten along, but my brother can be a stubborn jerk. He’s usually a stand-up guy though. Here’s a sandwich. Eat the whole thing; you need to keep your strength up.” 

Jack finished the sandwich and walked his dishes over to the sink. “Thanks, Charlotte. I’m gonna head out.”

She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side. A lock of blond hair fell across her face, and she pushed it behind her ear. “And exactly where are you going?”

“Right where you told me to; I’m going to Luke.” Jack wasn’t drunk, but his tongue was slightly loosened from whiskey. “You haven’t changed a bit, except maybe to grow even more beautiful. I have someone in my life, a woman I love, but if things were different—“

“Just stop. Our timing has always sucked. I’m glad you have someone—her name’s Andi, right? I did a little checking. She sounds like a woman worth holding on to. Losing Curtis is still too fresh for me anyway. We’ll always be friends, Jack. Good friends.”

Jack nodded and closed the kitchen door on his way out.

Gracie roused David, who’d pitched a tent outside the front door of the cabin at some point in the night. David set off to fetch Jack, but his brother wasn’t easily found. After almost an hour of checking various locations, and adding Carter to the search in the process, David spotted Jack walking toward Luke’s cabin. He watched his older brother approach the front door.

Jack knocked quietly, and Gracie let him in.

“How is he?”

“He’s in and out, but he’s lucid when he’s awake. High fever.”

“How are you?”

Gracie stood as tall as possible and set her jaw. “I’m ok. Really. You know he’s been asking for you.”

Jack walked over to Luke’s bedside and sat down. “Hey son, how you holding up?”

“I hope that was a rhetorical question.” Luke’s voice was scratchy, and he smiled weakly, “I’m really glad you’re here. I need to tell you a few things.”

“You need to save your strength—” Jack began automatically, then stopped himself. He knew that they were both thinking,
for what?
 

“Come closer,” Luke directed, “I can’t talk very loud.” When Jack was sufficiently near, the teen whispered, “Don’t shoot me when I turn.”

Jack pulled his head back and looked at Luke in alarm. “What are you talking about?”

“Take me up north somewhere, away from people.” He was fading. “I don’t want to hunt people . . .”

Then he was out again, Jack left wondering if he’d just heard the fevered utterance of a madman, or if Luke knew something he didn’t about the effects of the virus. After a conflicted moment he decided it didn’t matter: he wouldn’t let an enemy come back after the transformation, let alone a loved one. When Luke opened his eyes as an infected, Jack would shoot him.

CHAPTER 4

Hundreds of miles to the north of the tragedy playing out in Vicksburg, members of the Fort Wayne settlement were raucously celebrating the news of the improbable victory that had arrived over the radio a few hours earlier. What was believed to be at least a few hundred hunters were still prowling the area across the river, the waterway being the main protection for the civilians who’d sent their soldiers to Mississippi. Still, they’d been living with that threat for months and weren’t about to miss out on the opportunity to enjoy a party in honor of the amazing outcome of the battle. A rare, early-November blizzard had rolled in from the northern Great Plains and was smothering the fledgling community with heavy snow driven by a howling wind. The weather was keeping the revelry inside for the night, and most of the inhabitants had gathered in the large meeting hall inside of the old water treatment plant where they were enjoying a feast, music, and even dancing. Members of a popular Indianapolis rap group called SkRiLLa and the Zoo Crew happened to be among the refugees in Fort Wayne, and with the generators powering their beats and microphones, hip hop was alive and well in the Hoosier state.

Although it was past midnight, Carter’s wife, Deb, was staying close by the radio, hoping to hear from her husband. She was alone when a call came in from Lori Alberts in Vicksburg.

“Hey Deb, do you sleep in the radio room? I think you’re always there.” Lori sounded uncomfortable, like someone making small talk before breaking unhappy news.

Deb understood the tone instantly, “What’s wrong? You should be celebrating right now.”

“It’s Luke,” Lori responded, obviously starting to cry. “He’s been bitten.”

“You mean through his gear? Are you saying he’s been exposed to the virus?” Deb knew the answer, but didn’t want to believe it.

“It was a freak accident after the battle; I guess he took his glove off. Gracie was there, with Jack, David, and Carter—“

“Is Carter around? I want to talk to him.”

Lori blew her nose. “I could probably find him for you. He’s with Jack right now. There’s more news, pretty unbelievable really. It turns out that Luke is Jack’s biological son.”

“What? That’s crazy . . .” Deb began.

“Not really. I guess David figured it out; Luke’s mom had been Jack’s high school sweetheart. They broke up, and she moved away without telling Jack she was pregnant.”

Deb raised her voice in anger. “So Jack finds out that Luke is his son just in time to watch him die?” As she took a deliberate breath to calm herself, she noticed Andi standing in the doorway, open-mouthed. “Listen, Lori, just tell Carter to call me when he can. Tell him I said to stay by Jack’s side. I need to figure out how to break the news around here.”

After signing off with Lori, Deb turned to Andi. “You heard?”

Andi sat down next to Deb, unsure of what to say. “I don’t know what I heard. I think you said that Luke is Jack’s son, and that Jack has to watch him die.”

Deb summarized the conversation with Lori, and Andi was truly speechless. The two women quietly sat together in the radio room and fought to maintain their composure.

Andi was the first to break the silence. “How are we gonna inform everyone else about this?”

Deb seemed to be staring at something only she could see until she finally shook her head in confusion. “I just can’t think about it right now, I really can’t.”

“Do you think we should try to let Christy know? And Vickie and Sal? That entire group that fought their way through from Cleveland is like one big family; they love each other.”

Deb wiped away a tear before explaining, “They all headed back to the ranch as soon as we got the news about our big victory over Barnes. Well, Vickie was still there, but Christy, Sal, and the kids left for Trudy’s a few hours ago. I think we should let them celebrate tonight and send word about Luke tomorrow.”

Andi nodded in agreement. “It’s not like they can do anything about it. I wish I was with Jack; I can’t imagine what he must be going through. Maybe I should try to get to Vicksburg as soon as possible—”

“Carter’s there,” Deb cut in. “I know it’s not the same thing, but those two have been to hell and back together. If you want to go, I’m sure we can arrange it, but don’t worry about Jack being alone. He’s not.”

“I won’t do anything until I talk to him,” Andi decided. “My girls are going to be devastated, and so are a lot of other people. So many other people . . . we have visitors here from Middle Bass. Should we tell them? What about Father O’Brien?” 

Deb shrugged, “We’ll have to tell everyone eventually. I don’t personally know the guys who just got here from Middle Bass, but I think one of them knows Luke pretty well. They almost drowned together, and Luke saved his life.”

“What’s his name?” Andi asked.

“Lieutenant Heder,” Deb replied, “but everyone just calls him Red.”

“That’s right,” Andi remembered. “Gracie told me about how Luke had jumped into Lake Erie in full armor to save the guy, and all he could do after they were pulled from the water was crack about the name, ‘Red Heder.’ I think he’s hooked up with somebody Luke met when the Cleveland group was trying to get here last summer.”

Deb stood and stretched. “Well, if Red and his buddy had gotten here a few days earlier, they probably would have been in Vicksburg themselves. I don’t know if they have good luck or bad: they might have been killed in the fighting, but I wish Lieutenant Heder would have had an opportunity to return the favor and save Luke’s life.” Deb was a soldier’s wife, and thought that she had hardened herself to the risks involved with loving a warrior, but she still covered her face with her hands for a moment as she was once again reminded that Luke was dying.

Andi didn’t trust herself to reply without weeping, so she sat quietly and listened to the fierce wind blowing outside. Deb was wiping her eyes as the sergeant of the guard appeared breathlessly in the doorway. He was a member of one of the Utah platoons Hiram Anderson had left behind to protect the city after he and the other soldiers deployed to Vicksburg.

“Ms. Wilson?”

Deb pulled her hands from her face and looked at the concerned soldier. “Yes?”

The sergeant looked from Deb to Andi and back again. He immediately realized that he’d come at a bad time, but awkwardly continued with his report. “I’m sorry to interrupt you right now, but I’ve got two guards who were pulling wall-duty unconscious in the snow—”

Deb was instantly all business, her personal concerns immediately pushed aside as she tried to process the sergeant’s message. “Are they okay, was it the storm? Hypothermia?”

“No ma’am,” the sergeant quickly explained. “It looks like somebody hit ‘em in the head and knocked ‘em out.”

Clearly alarmed, Deb glanced over at Andi before turning back to the soldier. “Who’s on the wall now?”

“I have four men up top and two squads patrolling behind them. There were footsteps in the snow leading back this way, but I have no idea who did it or why.”

Andi jumped in and took over the questioning. “Do you have any idea how long they were out? What could have been their attacker’s motive? Is there any evidence of hunters on the bridge?”

The sergeant held up a hand to try to slow Andi long enough to answer her first question. “The injured men weren’t shivering or dangerously cold when we found them, so I’m guessing that we got there fairly soon after the assault. As for motive, it looks like whoever took out my guards spent some time digging along the base of the wall; piles of fresh snow were used to try to hide the holes.”

“Why would somebody in here try to dig under our wall?” Deb asked in bewilderment.

“For no good reason,” Andi declared as she reached out and gently placed her hand on the sergeant’s arm. “What’s your name, Sarge?”

“Devon Ferguson, ma’am.”

“Ok, Devon, I’m coming with you and we’re going to go check out the bridge.” From the expression on the young sergeant’s face, he seemed less than pleased. There was a slight edge to Andi’s voice when she asked, “Is there something you want to say, Devon?”

“Just that nobody calls me Devon. All the guys call me Fergus.”

Andi smiled. “Sorry, Fergus. I need to grab my coat from downstairs and pick up some gear, but we need to check those holes for explosives—”

Suddenly a bright flash erupted from the direction of the wall blocking the only bridge connecting the heavily fortified peninsula with downtown Fort Wayne. Then the sound of the explosion rolled over the building with enough force to blow out windows, knocking Andi and Deb to the floor while bringing the party down the corridor to a screeching halt. After a few seconds of stunned confusion, the sergeant was helping the women to their feet when another soldier came rushing in, snow plastered on his beard and a look of apprehension in his eyes.

“Sarge, we just heard a chopper fly above the bridge from the direction of the city, and hunters are already howling and moving this way.”

“Is there a breach in the wall?” Andi shouted over the ringing in her ears.

The stunned guard shrugged and shook his head. “Waiting for the dust to clear, but everyone in the barracks is gearing up and heading out there right now.”

Andi looked at Deb as shouts and cries from the abruptly-ended party could now be heard throughout the building. “I’m going out there too. Try to calm the folks down the hall and start the evacuation protocol while I check out the bridge. My kids are spending the night with Carter’s mom, check in with them for me.”

Deb was hesitant. “There’s a blizzard out there, are you sure we should order everyone to evacuate?”

“Just start the procedure. Make sure everyone returns to their quarters and gets their bug-out bags and cold weather gear. If nothing else, this will be a good training opportunity.”

“All right, consider it done, but take a radio and keep me updated about what you find. We have a strong wall out there, so we should be okay . . .” Deb didn’t seem quite convinced about her last statement.

As soon as Andi and Fergus were out the door, Deb kicked in to high gear. She contacted the designated people from a list outlining emergency protocols before sounding the evacuation alarm. Then she called The Castle and the ranch to let them know what was happening. Finally, she radioed Vicksburg and told the person monitoring communications to stay on the line until they had a better idea about the potential emergency in Fort Wayne. She also requested that someone notify Hiram Anderson. She briefly considered asking for Jack or Carter, but given what was happening with Luke, she decided that they didn’t need to be bothered unless the situation escalated.

The sounds of men shouting and hunters howling could be heard over the wind outside as Andi and Fergus headed to the wall
.
For the first time, Andi began to believe that Fort Wayne’s most important defensive positon had been compromised. She knew that the bridge itself was wired with enough explosive to drop it into the river, and she figured that the worst-case scenario would be a small hunter incursion into the settlement before the span over the flowing waterwas destroyed
.
Still, preparing for an evacuation was the right thing to do; everyone knew in the post-infection world that it was better to be safe than sorry.

As they approached the wall, Andi could see by the fires and one surviving spotlight that heavy fighting was taking place inside of a breach that appeared to be about ten meters wide. “Shit, shit, shit!” she mumbled as she started to run as quickly as possible under the weight of her leathers. Jack had ordered basically every local soldier to Vicksburg nearly two weeks ago, leaving only a hundred Utah troops in Fort Wayne to man the wall and aggressively patrol the area. Another platoon was stationed at The Castle, but they would be of no help here tonight. The western fighters were good, heavily experienced veterans of the war against the infected, survivors of battles across half a continent, but Andi still wished her friends were here as she realized the settlement was in grave danger. She had stood in the shield wall at the Battle of The Castle, and fought in plenty of skirmishes before and after that epic clash, but she hadn’t fought beside the soldiers now responsible for defending her home and family.

Fergus pushed past her as she reached the wall, but they both saw no way to immediately help in the fighting. Two ranks of heavily armored spearmen were packed shoulder-to shoulder in the rubble left behind by the blast. More soldiers were arrayed across the fighting platform atop the remains of the stout wall, mostly using rifles and shotguns since noise-control wasn’t an issue after the explosion had alerted every flesh-eater for miles around. Andi saw the bearded guard who’d earlier brought word of the damage and grabbed him by the arm as he rushed by in the nearly blinding snow.

“What’s the situation out there?” she shouted over the wind.

The harried soldier squinted against the flakes stinging his face until he realized whose face was under the helmet. “There’s hundreds of ‘em, ma’am, thousands. They’re just pouring out of the city. That helicopter flew over again just a minute ago; this is definitely a coordinated attack.”