Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation (3 page)

In
locating and tracking the raiders once they started to group together again,
the armed forces performed significantly better. The prophet is believed to be
in Idaho, near Yellowstone National Park, hiding in the forests and mountains,
rallying his forces. Our working theory is that he plans on targeting those
living within the park.

Before
our allies got around to asking, I offered to take in their women and children.
We did the same back when we were living in Nebraska, so it was nothing new.
More importantly, it is a solid tactic, getting the non-combatants out from
underfoot and freeing others to fight. The civilians were moved in a single
large convoy, immediately after heavily armed groups drove the route to ensure
it was clear with our planes flying overhead keeping an eye out for zombies or
any other threat. There were no problems, and they arrived without incident.
Briana quickly began to sort and organize them.

I then made
preparations to travel to Yellowstone with a portion of my militia in order to
lend a hand in the upcoming conflict. The American government also promised
several hundred soldiers and plenty of aircraft. The general consensus was that
it would be quick, one sided, and totally decisive. Then it blew up in our
faces or, more accurately, in that of Europe and Asia.

It was
unclear what happened or who was to blame. However, there is no doubt that over
a period of three days, fifty seven nuclear weapons were detonated. The first
explosion was in the mountains of Pakistan. While the military is fairly certain
that a small number survived in that region, they have no idea why they were
targeted or by whom. France, which was believed to be almost completely devoid
of life, was next. Paris was destroyed, along with several other major cities.
It made no sense. Following this came Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and
Switzerland.

The
method of delivery varied. A few warheads were launched atop ballistic missiles,
fired from China and Pakistan, neither of which had a functional government, at
least as far as we knew. Others appear to have been delivered by plane or ship.
There had been rumors of some sort of miniature cold war or simmering religious
war on that side of the world, but I am so far out of the loop on foreign
affairs that I couldn’t even begin to say. Hopefully, I’ll find out what’s going
on at some point.

The
effect of all this was an immediate withdrawal of those forces allocated to
help us destroy the raiders and a shifting of America’s limited resources.
Helping the survivors of this new, unexpected horror, along with ensuring our own
territory was kept safe, received priority. Just so you don’t think this was a
complete abandonment like the last time around, I did agree with their decision
– though I hated it – and we got to keep the soldiers who had been based with
us the past couple of years, many of whom had married locals. On top of that
was the fact that we had been extremely well equipped. We were not lacking in
armaments. Briana was a little less understanding, but she couldn’t fault their
logic either. With so few people left, we had to save as many as possible from
the slow death radiation poisoning offered. And, again, there was the matter of
making sure our country remained safe. Last thing anyone wanted was to have the
bombs go off on our side of the planet.

*
* *

I am going
to pause here and give a rundown of what I do know about the world at large. As
to the United States, there is a functioning government based in Hawaii with
the territory directly controlled encompassing most of the inhabited islands in
the Pacific and Atlantic. The entirety of the Caribbean has been formally annexed,
as was the Falkland Islands with the blessing of the British. I’m sure the Argentinean
government would have a few choice words about that, had they been around to
complain. While much of this expansion was clearly imperialistic in nature, the
local populations seemed to accept it in the end. Receiving automatic citizenship
appeared to help, having ready access to supplies and trade more so. The number
of warm bodies was a little over one hundred seventy thousand.

Yellowstone
and the Black Hills were labeled self-governing territories within the United
States. We weren’t the only ones, but we were by far the largest. And, setting
the record straight, it’s not like we wanted to be independent – we did not –
but the difficulties surrounding travel made it next to impossible for us to
participate fully. It was the civilian government who pointed out the problems
and suggested we manage ourselves. Personally, I think they did not want to
assume responsibility for our well being when they knew it would be both onerous
and expensive, in regards to men and supplies, to provide for our defense.

Prior to
the nuclear attacks, the United Kingdom had a little over forty thousand. An
estimated fifteen thousand were now shadows on the pavement or dust in the
wind. The remainder had scattered throughout Scotland and the coastal islands.
With their only large settlement gone, the people had absolutely no desire to
present an enticing target. All efforts to clear the British Isles of zombies
have been completely derailed.

Switzerland
was the most populous nation with an estimated quarter million people. When it
all began, they survived the clouds of radiation that spread over Europe caused
by civilian reactors going critical, but fortune was not smiling this time.
They lost thousands, and much of their active farmland was contaminated. Tired
of sheltering in bunkers left over from World War II, they accepted America’s
offer of assistance. We were going to help them relocate to Ireland. A
significant portion of Britain’s population planned on joining them. Between
the two, and with the help of America’s soldiers, the smaller island should be
cleared of the walking dead in only a few months.

As with
the Falkland Islands, Malta was annexed by America. This was actually requested
by the inhabitants, which consisted of less than a hundred. A few more were
relocated there, and the little dot of land’s status as a refueling stop
skyrocketed.

Russia
lost close to twenty thousand in the nuclear exchange, and they swore up and
down that it was the fault of the French and Pakistanis. I can’t really say
anything about this seeing how the Pakistanis were all but gone and the French
apparently extinct. Regardless, with close to a hundred fifty thousand
remaining, mostly ethnic Russians with a sizable Mongolian minority, the
government relocated everyone north, establishing a network of small towns, all
widely spaced, and a series of military outposts.

Israel,
with close to thirty thousand Jews and a few hundred Christians, is plodding
along nicely. They are living in a handful of heavily fortified coastal towns,
with the Old City of Jerusalem and the ancient fortress of Masada occupied by
military units. They have not forgotten the call for jihad, when Muslims had
placed the blame for the entire zombie uprising on the Jewish people. As a
result, no Muslim is allowed in their country on pain of death. They can certainly
hold a grudge. Personally, I don’t really blame them. A single missile was
fired in their direction, but this was intercepted with the pieces crashing in
the desert to their east. It came from a ship in the Persian Gulf, which was
gone by the time any aircraft got close enough to sink it. The identity of the
attacker is unknown.

And
finally, we have Japan. Some fifteen thousand people are residing in Okinawa
with the imperial family in control. What was left of the prior civilian
government, the two or three members of their parliament who survived, had been
graciously thanked for their service and disbanded. The emperor is apparently
doing a good job running things, since no one seemed to complain. There is even
limited trade, mostly of food stuffs, between Okinawa and Hawaii.

That’s
it for the nations of the world. Going into the fourth year, they were
surviving, apparently making inroads against the zombies, until someone, or
several someones, decided using the most destructive weapons in the planet’s
arsenal was a good idea. As if walking corpses didn’t provide enough grief.

*
* *

The back
story is almost complete. Then it will be time for far more exciting and
memorable events. But first, I am going to provide a quick summary of where we
stood regarding our settlement in the Black Hills. The valley where our town
sits is roughly three miles long and a little under a half mile wide with the
only entrance placed on the south side where a second, downward sloping valley
leads to a road. This opening has been walled off and cannot be seen from below,
not until a person has all but reached it. At two hundred thirty feet long,
with the ends sinking into the hillsides that border it, the wall is sixteen
feet high and eight wide. Battlements were constructed on top to provide cover
and protection for the defenders. They also keep anyone from falling off.
Safety is important.

All easy
routes over the hills have been chipped away, making it difficult to clamber up
the bare stone and get inside. This is far from perfect, and anyone with the
requisite skill can scale the rock faces. Still, our efforts will force invaders
to come through the front door, assuming they don’t use aircraft to drop in
from above. Lookouts, strategically placed cameras, and a few well positioned
snipers should be enough to deal with any would be surprises.

Our
primary watch post is located in a cleft in the rocks near the gate, which is
sixty feet from the end of the wall. The gate itself is fifteen feet wide and
can allow easy entrance to most vehicles, although four wheel drive is required
to ascend the lower valley. Composed of thick wood, it is covered with tin
plating to help protect against fire. There are a few cabins nearby to house those
tasked with guarding it, along with an armory and dining hall.

Inside
the valley, we have several farms with the areas allocated to growing crops
fenced off. Most of the livestock is now kept elsewhere, but there are barns
and pens for dairy cattle, chickens, and horses. The town proper was
constructed in the rear of the valley with cabins placed in nice orderly lines.
The roads running between these consist of a thick gravel base overlaid with flat
stones. And, to everyone’s joy, the cabins all have wood floors. Finally,
there’s a large brewery that crafts a low alcohol beer. Because fermentation
helps eliminate bacteria, this is actually safer to drink than most of the
available water.

Behind
the town, we have a small rise – the sides of the valley are composed of two
long, steep hills – upon which the citadel sits. This fortification has walls
sixteen feet high and eight wide with battlements on top. Like the outer valley
wall, they are composed of two layers of stone with dirt, rubble, and concrete
filling the center. At each corner is a tower which juts forward of the wall
itself. The gatehouse is in the center of the front wall and has two sets of
wood doors and a portcullis covered in sheets of metal, again tin. The towers
and gatehouse are two stories high at twenty four feet and also have
battlements.

Okay,
I’ll admit it. Yes, I will. We went and built a real castle. I just couldn’t
help myself. After living in the concrete hive everyone insisted on calling
“the castle” back in Nebraska, the concept was locked within my mind. Now, heavy
weapons can blast through our walls in short order, but small arms will have
little effect. It also provides decent cover and well placed firing platforms. Additionally,
the place can hold a tremendous amount of supplies. As to zombies, I doubt they
would ever get into the valley in the first place. If they did, the citadel
would stop them cold. Finally, being able to look at those tall, thick walls
did wonders for morale, and that is every bit as important as its defensive value.

Within
the citadel is a single house. This belongs to me and my wife, Briana; my
adopted daughter, Mary; my natural born son, Asher; and as often as not Lizzy
who spends an inordinate amount of time visiting. We also have a hall for
official meetings, the primary armory, storehouses for food and granaries, a
hospital, and cisterns. Most of the water storage is actually underground in
the town, but it would be foolish not to keep as much as we can inside the
walls.

There
are also two caves in the valley, both of which are located close to the
citadel. The first consists of a single, large chamber. We leveled the floor so
it could be used for storage, and the entrance has been walled off with a door
installed. In contrast, the second cave is long and winding, coming to a dead
end deep underground. It contains petroglyphs carved into the stone, and we
have yet to figure out who made them or why. It seems most of the historians
familiar with such topics are now dead. Annoying. This has also been secured in
order to keep curious children out.

And last
but not least, we have our generators. There are a lot of them, and the entire
valley has been wired for electricity. There are a few powered by gas, with the
supply tanks partly buried and fenced off. However, the majority of our needs
are met by a collection of wind turbines, fuel being too precious to waste.
Attempts were made at using solar panels, but the things weren’t working, not
enough consistent sunlight. As to the tiny power station, this was installed by
the military, and the technicians who run it are mostly from the islands.