Zombie Evolution: Volume 1 No Man Left Behind (3 page)

“Everyone clear?”, asked Chris as he looked around the room.

All heads bobbed up and down in agreeance with their leader.  Chris, Tbone and Rusty were to meet in the newly made torture room at eleven AM.  It would have been earlier, but Chris was not a morning person and wouldn’t be awake until nine thirty or ten.

Chapter 4

Brian agreed to accompany Carla, in getting a rescue team together.  He still had a couple of hours before his gatekeeping shift would end, so Carla decided to go home and face her parents until her friend was free of his duties.  She did not really want to lie to her parents about cutting it so close, so she was going to tell them part of the truth.  Her mother would go into a panic, even though it was over and all said and done. 

The ranch had four houses on it.  This included Mr. Bark and his family’s home.  The other three homes were for ranch hands and their families.  During the outbreak, two of these houses became free.  One of the families had fled the ranch  to find family members and the other family just simply did not survive.  This left two homes open for the people that seeked refuge at the Bark’s ranch.  The rest of the families live in RVs and tents.  Most of the families had the luxury of living in a motorhome that they had either brought with them or stumbled upon by the scouters.  The goal was to get all of the residents, at Barks Ranch, into a hard covered shelter.  There were two of the latest families still waiting for homes.  These families lived in tents.

Carla and her family was one of the lucky families who ended up with one of the ranch hand houses.  Mostly because Carla’s father, Zeke, was an engineer and he had designed the wall around the ranch.  Zeke was an important part of the community.  He was extremely smart and came up with several ways to make life easier on the ranch.  If it was possible, Zeke could make it happen.  Sometimes even if it wasn’t possible, he could still make it happen.

When Carla walked into the front door, her mother, Kate, was on the couch waiting for her.  Carla could tell that her mother was not happy about her coming in so late.  Carla had been trying to get her mother to take some medicine that she had found for anxiety.  Her mother has been refusing to take it, because she did not think that she had a problem.  Kate said that if it wasn’t for her crazy daughter, she wouldn’t have any anxiety at all.  Carla wasn’t the only one that thought her mother really needed to be medicated.  Zeke thought the same thing.  It wasn’t Kate’s fault that the world fell apart around her head, and she wasn’t the only one in this crazy new world to suffer with this illness.

“How long have you been inside the gates, young lady.  Don’t try and lie to much, because I went and talked to your friend Brian a little over an hour ago.  He said that you had not made it in yet.  You cannot keep doing this to me.  I’m going to have a heart attack one day and you are going to be the one to blame!”, Kate said with a sharp stare into her daughter’s eyes.

Carla knew that this was not going to be an easy conversation.  She searched for just a split second in her head.  She had to find the right words that would make the lie believable.

After finding the right words, or what she thought were the right words, Carla said, “Mom it’s ok, I have been here for a while.  Brian told me that you had just came by to check on me right before I walked in the gates.”

Kate shook her head in disbelief.  She was not buying the words coming out of her daughter’s mouth.  She knew that Carla would do anything she could from facing her mother’s verbal wraths.

“Then why did you take so long getting back to the house little miss?” ,said Zeke, startling both of the women, as he walked up behind Carla. 

Carla jump when she heard her father’s powerful voice.  Just the same way that she did when she was a little girl.  When she was little and had been getting into something that she shouldn’t have or doing something that was not permitted, her dad’s voice would always stop her, dead in her tracks.  Even though she was grown, that same fear would instantly shoot through her body when her dad spoke authoritatively. 

Carla was humbled and wanted to change the subject, with a quickness.

“I am sorry about that, guys.  I was telling Brian all about what I discovered on my outing.  I guess time got away from me.  I didn’t mean to worry you, mom.  I am truly sorry.  Please forgive me.”

Kate refused to speak.  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to accept her daughter’s apology just yet. Carla constantly worried her over her bad decisions.   Her daughter to suffer in her unforgiveness, at least for a day or two. 

When Zeke saw that his wife was not going to speak, he said, “I know that you like what you do for the ranch, baby girl.  I just hope that you would be more considerate of your mother’s condition.  You know, if she had her way, she would not let you be a scout.  We can’t stop you, I know.  You are a woman now, and you can do as you please.  Hell, I wouldn’t want to stop you.  You are one of the best scouts that we have here.  We just ask that you would be more considerate of your mother’s mental state."

Kate’s eye beamed of angriness towards that last part of her husband little speech.  She wouldn’t have a bad mental state, if it wasn’t for those two.  She was completely sane!

A storm of guilt hovered over Carla. She did think that her mother would be better off with some Zoloft, but on the other hand her actions weren’t helping either.  She could not tell her mother of what was to come in the morning.  She did want to tell her father, though.  After giving her mother a big hug and kiss, she asked her father to help her with something outside.

Kate allowed Carla to lean in with a hug and kiss, but she was not ready to forgive her.  This changed real fast when she felt her baby’s loving embrace and warm kiss among her cheek.  Kate melted like butter and patted her baby girls back in forgiveness.

Zeke knew that his daughter had something to say to him, so he did not ask any questions in front of Kate.  Carla and her father walked behind the house, to the chicken coop, before they started to talk.  Both of them knew that if they stood to close to the house, Kate would be able to hear them. 

“What you want to show me, baby girl,” asked Zeke.

Carla liked it when her father called her baby girl, although she remembered a time when she would get angry at him.  She felt like he was not letting her grow up somehow.  Now hearing those words made her remember what things use to be like before the world went to hell in a handbasket.  The words gave her a sense of security somehow.  He made her feel safe, like a little girl wrapped up tight in her father’s arms.

Carla’s face suddenly changed to excitement and she said,“Dad, I have to tell you about what I have discovered.  It is something wonderful!”

Carla told her dad the whole story.  Well, maybe not quite the whole story.  She did leave the part out about her cutting it super close getting through the gates.  She told him of the warehouse and all the food.  She told him about Calvin and Trent.  He listened intently to the entire adventure.

Carla paused for a moment.  She tried to read her father’s face.  Was he as excited as she was?  

After he stayed silent for a moment, she said,“Brian is going to help me build an army so that we can go on a rescue mission,” said Carla.

Zeke knew that he would not be able to stop his daughter, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from telling her how he feels.

“I don’t like it much.  You are a scout, not a warrior or soldier.  I am glad that you did not tell your mother your plans.  This might take her over the edge.  I do understand why you're doing it and I know that Maggie will jump to go with you.  Let me know how many and who goes with you.  That might give me little piece of mind.  I love you and I am so very proud of you, just don’t get yourself killed, baby girl.”

Carla’s face softened.  She loved her parents and hated to make them worry.  The best part about them being so protective, was that she could feel just how much they love her.

“I won’t dad, I will be back and we will be victorious.  I have to help, because I know where the place is and I know where Calvin and Trent are being kept.  I could never just leave them to die, daddy.”

He knew his daughter better than anyone else, and she was right.  Carla had a loving heart and would do things for strangers.  What more would she do for the people that she had known and be close to from childhood. 

“I get why you’re going and that is why I am proud of you.  I just want you to come back home to me.  Do you understand me?”

“Yes dad, I understand.  Your baby girl will be back,” she said as she patted her father on his back. 

Zeke turned to move back towards the house, when he turned to his daughter with one last thought.

“Had any dreams lately?”, he asked her.

She knew what he meant by dreams and there was one that she was having.  She did not want to bother him with that problem yet.  She would tell him all about that one, when she made it safely back home.  If she did tell him, he might try to stop her from tomorrow’s mission. 

Chapter 5

When Brian’s gatekeeping shift had ended, the two of them went door to door.  Between them, they were able to form a decent sized rescue team. Twenty-five men and women agreed to help the father and son.  Part of the incentive was the food that they could get their hands on, of course.  

Maggie was among these heroic people.  Calvin was her father.  Maggie was a tough woman, along with the other two women that joined the group.  Hilda, Elaine, and almost  the entire team, belonged to a militia of sorts.  These were the people that served and protected the small population.  In Fact, Bobby and Carla were the only two that were not official defenders of the ranch. 

Bobby and Carla were both scouts.  Scouts were those who went outside of the walls to find useful things.  Bobby and Carla would go together most of the time.  Sometimes on a motorcycle and sometimes on foot.  Bobby chose to stay home on the day Carla had discovered the warehouse.  He and Brian were taking care of a few repairs to their motor home.  Both Bobby and Brian tried to talk Carla into staying around the ranch that day, but she was very glad that she did not listen to them.

Bobby was Brian’s cousin.  Bobby’s family did not make it to the ranch.  They were killed before they could reach safety.  Brian’s father, Jason, had gotten a hold of his brother before he had retreated to the ranch.  Bobby’s family lived only fifty miles away.  Jason had assumed that his brother’s family was dead, when they had not reached the ranch in over a week’s time. Even though he thought he thought they were dead, it did not stop him from heading up a search for his brother and his family.   Jason was glad that he chose to search for his family.  Even though most of the family was dead, he did find Bobby.  Bobby was close to death himself, when Jason and Brian found him laid in a creek bed.  Bobby would have never made it to the ranch, if it wasn’t for his uncle.

The army was to head out at sunrise.  It would take at least three hours to get there, if the army walked swiftly, and without any breaks.  Carla knew that  they had to get there as soon as possible.  There was no telling what those thugs would end up doing to Calvin and his baby boy.  She didn’t know if Calvin would even still be alive, but she hoped that they would not hurt Trent.  Every time she thought about it, Carla had to fight back the tears.  How could anyone be so evil and cold hearted?

Carla was the first one to the gates, the next morning.  It was not sunrise yet, but she wanted to be ready to open the gates as soon as the sun came up.  For thirty minutes, she stood there by herself.  Listening to the sounds of the dark, she heard two of the super zombies.  They were right outside of the gates.  These were probably the same monsters that had tried to get her last night, as she ran for safety.  The rabid humans were running back and forth, along the fence line, looking for a way in.  Carla stayed as still and as quiet as she possibly could.  The creatures would soon be looking for some kind of shelter.  If she stayed still, they would not hesitate to leave. The night zombies would have to find a safe place for sleeping through the day.

Thanks to the design of the wall, the super zombies could not see or smell Carla.  The wall was made of stainless steel.  It was fifteen feet high and three inches thick.  When Carla’s dad found out that there was a steel and metal factory located at the back property line of the Ranch, he had no problem making the secure wall.  It took the community a year to get it finished.  Before the wall was completed, some lives were lost.  No lives have been lost, since the was built.

The gate was Carla’s favorite creation.  She had a bit to do with the construction of the gate.  It was her idea to spray flex seal on the end of each door.  This way, when the doors met each other in the middle, it sealed tight.  This locked out any odor that could be right on the other side.