Zombified (Book 1): Hudson Place (5 page)

****

Someone was calling his name. He groaned and tried to turn over, but his arm was being held in place. Groggily, he opened his eyes one at a time and slowly Cindy’s face came into focus.

“
Mick, honey, you awake now?”

“
Yeah, whassup,” he mumbled groggily, grimacing as he slowly eased himself into a sitting position. Damn, was he sore!

“
The power’s gone out and Dave needs your help.” Cindy stood and moved away from the bed so Mick could get up. “I’ve got your clothes right here,” she said as she held them out to him with one hand, the other held a flashlight that was pointed at his midsection.

As Mick pulled on the jeans first he said, “I’m surprised it hasn’t happened until now.”

Cindy nodded as she handed him a shirt. “We were lucky, that’s for sure. Dave’s trying to get the generators going and he’s having a bit of a problem. I’m going to go get Charlie in a minute to help, too.”

“
Go ahead, I’m good,” Mick replied as he struggled to button the blue cotton shirt through sleep-fogged eyes. He decided against shoes, opting instead to slip his feet into his favorite house shoes. He looked up to see Cindy still standing there, staring at him.

“
I love you - you know,” she replied softly. She walked over and hugged him around the waist. Mitch returned the hug and they stood silently for a moment. He breathed in her scent and his arms tightened around her. “You’ve done so much for all of us,” she continued. “I just want you to know that no matter how bad things may get, if I had to decide on having things the way there were before but I couldn’t have you, or the way it is now, I’d choose now.”

He leaned back to look her in the eyes. “I love you too, babe.” He kissed her gently on the lips. “We’re going to make it through this, all of us.”

As he stood gazing at Cindy, Mick couldn’t help but think of how fortunate he was to have her. Married almost thirty one years, they still acted like they were on their honeymoon, which suited Mick just fine. Sure, they’d had their ups and downs, but to him it made their marriage that much stronger.

Cindy gave him a squeeze, released him, and stepped back with a smile. “You better get going before Dave comes looking for you, I’ll run get Charlie.”

“
Will do,” he murmured. He grabbed a flashlight out of the night stand and as he followed Cindy out the door, he hoped his reassurances to her proved correct. There were so many unknowns and any one of them could be their downfall.

****

Fortunately for the group, Dave had prepared for the eventuality of the electricity failing. He had planned to upgrade to solar panels, but the generators would have to do. With Mick and Charlie’s help, two large generators now hummed on the rooftop under their protective canopies. Power would be rationed in regard to lighting; priority was given to making sure the freezers never stopped running. All the kids loved their video games and TV, but playing/viewing times would now be limited and strictly enforced. Since Lindsey was a teacher they decided that the kids would have class every morning after they had breakfast and did their chores. In the afternoons, everyone would take turns watching the kids and keeping them busy.

Losing power made Charlie think twice about leaving, but everyone assured him they’d be fine. The day they left dawned bright and clear, all the gear was packed into the SUV, there was nothing left to do but say their goodbyes.

“
Charlie, remember to keep using the walkie as long as you can. The range is about ten miles, so you should be able to let us know that you made it most of the way at least,” Dave advised as he walked Charlie out to the vehicle.

Although Dave had purchased Hudson Place with location in mind, there were still several blocks of scattered warehouses, storage facilities, and other buildings similar to the one they were living in to get past. If they had been located closer to downtown, their trip would have been impossible.

Mick watched Dave chatting with Charlie and silently prayed that the people in Shady Oaks were still alive, if they were and Charlie could accomplish what he planned, maybe there would be some hope for the future, something for them all to look forward to.

Everyone trooped down to the garage to say goodbye. Once all the handshakes, hugs, and kisses were given out, the men climbed into the SUV. Once again, Dave had come through. This was no ordinary vehicle; it was bulletproof and reinforced throughout. If any vehicle could make it, this was the one.

“
Remember to contact us on the ham radio just as soon as you can,” Dave reminded Charlie. “I know it may take a few days for that, but please...make it a priority...we want to know you’re all safe.”

“
Will do. Try not to worry, once we get out of the city it’s rural all the way, and we shouldn’t have any major “people” problems if you get my drift.” At Dave’s nod, Charlie continued. “The only real difficulties could be obstructed roads. If we have to clear any of them, things could get complicated, but I do believe we’re prepared for that, too.”

Dave nodded again in agreement and with a large sigh, backed away as Dexter started up the SUV. He keyed the walkie in his hand. “Balcony...all clear?”

Lilly had hurried up to the balcony after saying goodbye to the men, and it was her voice on the walkie. “It’s clear. Tell them we’ll watch as long as we can and let them know if we see anything suspicious.”

“
Thanks Lil,” Dave replied, then turned and relayed the information to Charlie through his open window. Then he reached over and hit the garage door opener.

As they backed out, the small group of survivors moved forward to watch their departure, waving all the while and shouting words of encouragement. Dave left the door open until the vehicle was rolling down the street. As the door lowered, Mick noticed how quickly everyone grew quiet with their own thoughts as they headed upstairs to begin another day.

Chapter 4

Charlie glanced back at Darrell just in time to see him wipe his eyes. “Hey man, it’ll be ok,” he said, giving Darrell a reassuring grin. “We’ve only got fifteen miles to cover, we’ll make it.”

Darrell nodded toward Charlie before replying. “Oh, I think we’ll make it, I’m just worried about what’s going to happen once we get there. We may not make it out alive you know, and I can’t stop thinking about Megan and Jimmy.”

“
Buck up there, Darrell,” Dexter interjected. “Anything that comes across our path that isn’t walking
and
talking, it’ll be toast.” Dexter thought that was hilarious and laughed uproariously at himself.

Charlie sighed quietly as he turned back to the front. With Dexter along, fifteen miles were going to seem like five hundred. But he was determined to get to Jenny, and if it meant traveling with a boor like Dexter, he’d do it every day.

They had only gone a few blocks when Dexter shouted, startling the two men. “Wow, would ya look at that!” He thumped the steering wheel with one hand and leaned forward in his seat to get a better look. “That’s insane!”

Charlie turned his head slightly to see what Dexter was ogling, then gulped and closed his eyes against the view off to the right and in front of him. They were coming up to a set of train tracks, and a passenger train was sitting there. Almost every window was broken out and debris lay strewn all around. Bodies were everywhere, but that wasn’t what had caught Dexter’s attention. There were literally dozens of dogs tearing at the bodies. There were some birds too, but Charlie had no idea what kind. They knew dogs (and most likely cats, too) were turning feral, they’d seen them around the bodies at Hudson Place and could usually scare them off with a few shots, but none of them had any idea it had gotten this bad. As they cleared the tracks a few dogs glanced their way, their snouts covered with gore, and then returned to their feast. Charlie realized that they had actually been leading a pretty sheltered life since everything had gone to hell; none of them knew what they were really going to encounter.

“
We’re going to have big problems if we have to get out for any reason,” Darrell said in a shaky voice. “Looks like we don’t have just zombies to worry about. You know, most of those bodies looked like they’d already been “zombified” as the kids put it, so does that mean the dogs are actually attacking and taking them down?”

“
If that’s what it means, then I say more power to ‘em!” Dexter crowed, slapping his hand against the steering wheel again.

Charlie was worried about how bold the dogs had become, but decided he could not deal with the possibilities of that scenario right now. As they crossed over the tracks, they all took a collective deep breath. Suddenly, the walkie in Charlie’s hand crackled to life, startling all three of them.

“
Damn!” Charlie exclaimed with a nervous laugh. He had heard Dave’s voice, but hadn’t made out what he said, that was how badly he was shook up. “Come again, Dave,” he said carefully into the walkie, trying to sound normal and talk past the huge lump in his throat.

“
Everything ok so far? We can’t see you anymore.” Dave’s voice came through loud and clear this time.

“
Um, yeah - ok so far. Road’s clear as far as we can see right now.” Charlie turned around and put a finger to his lips after speaking so both Darrell and Dexter could see.

“
Great! Great! Well, keep us posted on how the trip goes, if the road stays clear you should be there soon, which will give you plenty of time to check out the town.”

“
Will do, we’ll contact you again in about ten minutes.”

“
Sounds good, don’t forget these walkies have a ten mile range, and it may not even be that far,” Dave reminded him again.

Charlie chuckled and replied, “Ok, we’ll contact you in five then.”

“
If we don’t hear from you by then, we’ll give you a holler,” Dave said. “Talk to you soon!”

Charlie put the walkie on the dashboard and ran a hand over his face. “I didn’t want to spook them about what we saw, especially since we just left. Let’s leave that story for later, ok?”

Dexter looked at Charlie out of the corner of his eye and nodded. “Agreed, no need to worry ‘em about something like that.”

Charlie turned to look at Darrell, who also nodded. Charlie faced forward in the seat and tried to relax a little bit. The drive wouldn’t be that long, but if he didn’t relax he knew he’d be no good to anyone when they got to Shady Oaks.

Dexter reached over and began fiddling with the radio. “Maybe we’ll get lucky,” he mumbled as he turned the dials.

****

The drive proved uneventful, only once did they have to skirt two cars that had collided in the middle of the road at an intersection. The road, even on the busiest of days, had been lightly traveled since it was in a rural area, and Charlie figured it was plain old bad luck that had caused the wreck. Dexter simply eased onto the shoulder and they were clear. They chatted every few minutes with Dave or Mick until the reception got so bad eight miles out they had to stop trying. Charlie wouldn’t admit it, but he had garnered some comfort from being able to talk to what he thought of as home base, now it felt as though they were totally alone - which in reality they were. When he spotted the small green sign announcing Shady Oaks – Two Miles - Pop. Eight Hundred and Ninety Five, he breathed a huge sigh of relief and sat up straighter.

Charlie hadn’t been to Shady Oaks since he’d helped Jenny move there two years ago, but the town was so small he knew right where to go. He directed Dexter to a large asphalt-covered parking lot near the soccer field; it was situated on a hill overlooking most of town. Shady Oaks sat in a valley surrounded on three sides by the Fletcher Mountains.

The town itself was quaint and old fashioned. Built in a circular design, the center held government buildings and the schools. From there, businesses and shops lined the main streets. Homes ringed the business area, Charlie figured there were probably a few hundred, and the outlying homes probably ended within three miles of the mountains. Both he and Dexter were looking over toward the town hall and surrounding area with binoculars. Darrell was in the back rummaging through the weapons and making sure they were all loaded and ready to go. The area, in fact the whole town, appeared deserted.

“
Man, I don’t like this one bit,” Dexter grumbled. “Where are they? Did they all leave or maybe they’re hiding somewhere?”

Darrell leaned forward between the two men and squinted toward the town. “Maybe dogs got ‘em?”