Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation (30 page)

“Any
chance he will blame me for the deaths?”

“No,”
replied the captain. “For all his faults, the senator is a good man and
ultra-supportive of the military and its personnel. All he needs to hear is
that it was necessary, and he will back you completely. I don’t anticipate any
problems. But, was burning the entire island to the ground actually necessary?”

“There
were those who refused to surrender and were hiding in buildings,” I answered.

“They
shot two of our guys, but they’ll be okay,” added Mary, helpfully.

The
officer grimaced. “City fighting is among the worst. As far as the senator is
concerned, you removed the children and ended the threat. I’ll let him know
that burning it was to deprive any future groups of its use as a base from
which to launch assaults on peace loving survivors. I have no doubt he will
find a way to make that sound as favorable as possible.”

“Are
military and military families a big part of his constituency?” I asked.

“He has
one brother, a daughter, and three in-laws wearing the uniform. Fletchle backed
them from the start, and he’s loved for it.”

Maybe I
should not have been so quick to judge the man. The senator might be every bit
as nuts as Mary said, but he appeared to have some good traits after all.

*
* *

A few
more items before I round out this chapter. Captain Briggs informed me that he
would become Major Briggs as soon as the final paperwork arrived. I was happy
for him. The man deserved the promotion. He was competent. He was capable. He
was easy to work with. Briggs was an all around good officer.

It was also
decided that Yellowstone would be the launching point for the efforts to
reclaim the American heartland from the zombie menace. There was plenty of
room, and they had easy access to the mountains west of the park and the plains
east. The Black Hills, being more populated and with far less available space
was to remain a fallback position. That suited me just fine. I was curious to
see how this would unfold, and staying safe and uninvolved, at least at first,
was to our benefit.

Of
course, the entire cleansing of America was dependent on what was happening
overseas. It was believed Ireland would soon be secure enough that the British
and Swiss would need no further assistance. The other nations were settling
down, and no problems were expected from them either. The wild card was the
Caliphate. They were rapidly arming, which wasn’t particularly difficult since
weapons and military hardware were lying around just waiting to be taken, and
intelligence believed they were preparing to march. The question was to where.

Interlude – Lizzy’s Story

Lizzy hated
being kept away from excitement, adventure, danger, or pretty much anything out
of the ordinary. As such, her mood was so dour that Briana banished her from
the citadel, accompanied by an order to go do some real work. This did not go
over well, Briana comparing Lizzy’s behavior to Asher’s even less so. My friend
did as she was told though, getting in a truck and doing a circuit along the
outer perimeter of the Black Hills. Only, there wasn’t a whole lot to see. The
walls were all intact. The ditches were still there. The piles of fallen trees
and other natural looking obstructions remained in place. Just as disgusted as
before, Lizzy eventually made her way back inside, heading for the nearest
watch post.

“Are you
on duty again?”

Melody
shrugged. “I’m here most of the time.”

“Whatever
the fuck for? Is Renee making you? You being punished?”

“Not at
all. I volunteered.”

Her
emplacement, which overlooked our southern border, was among the best. Melody
was positioned high on a steep slope hidden by thick foliage. This allowed her
to see virtually everything.

“It’s no
fucking good for you to not talk to people. You need some interaction, and I
don’t give a shit if you want it or not. It’s not healthy.”

Melody
blanched.

“And
drop the martyred look. I’m not torturing you.” Lizzy took a seat atop a large
rock. It happened to be one Melody often used herself. “But that can wait until
after I finish the official crap. So, is there anything you need to help with
your job?”

“A shack
would be nice, or a lean-to.”

“A
shack? Whatever the fuck for?”

The
woman gestured at a dark green tarp strung between four trees. If it rains, I
can sit under there and stay somewhat dry, unless it’s really windy in which
case it doesn’t matter. That’s bad enough, but I can’t see very much if I’m
stuck there. What I need is something over here instead, something solid.”

She moved
a few yards to the left.

“See
what I mean? The trees give cover, so no one would spot me from below, but I
can still keep an eye on everything. Something long and narrow would be best,
with the door in the rear and some windows up front. I could even get vines
growing over the thing so it looks completely natural.”

When
Lizzy made her inquiry, she hadn’t actually expected a response, or if one was
given it should have been the usual I need better rations or fancier binoculars
sort of thing. This was a biggie, and Lizzy wasn’t all that excited about
constructing anything. It had never been necessary before, but most of their
scouting was done via aircraft or with patrols. There were only a few
stationary watches. Then again, with so few of them, why not take the time to provide
those on duty with a few basic comforts.

“I can
do that,” she said, after a moment or two. “I’ll even have it up before it gets
cold. Maybe we can put in an electric heater or something.”

Melody
brightened. “That would be wonderful.”

“It
doesn’t change the fact that you will be doing something other than staring at
nothing for eighteen hours a day, sleeping a little while, and fucking
repeating the entire shitty process. Too much alone time rots the brain.”

The
negative look returned in full.

“What do
you like to do, other than this?”

Melody
shifted uncomfortably.

“Come on.
There has to be something. Do you read for fun?”

“Not
really.”

“Movies,
television?”

“I used
to watch some nature shows on the Discovery Channel, but not very often.”

Lizzy
began to grumble to herself.

“How
about horseback riding? We have lots of horses. You like horses?”

“No,”
said Melody, eyes downcast.

“How can
you not like horses, aside from them biting, kicking, and throwing you off
every chance they get? Scrap that. I don’t like the fucking animals all that
much myself. What then? You have to like something. Gambling? Want me to round
up a slot machine from one of the Indian casinos? We could hit a bank and get
you a few thousand quarters.”

“I like
cards,” she admitted, “not poker or what they play in those places, but card
games in general.”

“Okay,
that’s something. Now, what do you play, and if you say solitaire, I’ll shoot
every last toe off your left foot.”

Melody
drew back, uncertain how serious Lizzy was. “Pinochle was my favorite, but I
haven’t played since my family… since this started.”

“Pinochle,
I actually know how to play that one. Haven’t done so myself much, not
recently, but I do know how. Okay, that’s a starting point. We would need more
people though. Can’t play with only two.”

“There
used to be a club in my old town. A bunch of us got together on Thursdays.”

“A club…
That would be nice.” All traces of annoyance were gone. Lizzy had found
something to both help Melody return to the world and to distract herself from
a myriad of troubles and worries. “We are going to set up a pinochle club.
It’ll be soon too. I’ll get right on that, and I’m sure we can find others. We
can do the games over in Venusville – I fucking hate that name – in one of the
militia supply cabins. We can even play for money.”

“Money
isn’t worth much,” pointed out Melody. She wasn’t certain if this would be good
or not. The woman had never been the social sort, and she truly did prefer to
be alone most of the time. Still, some interaction, in a very safe, informal
setting, might help with the sense of despair that had been growing within her.
“Cookies might be better.”

“Cookies?
Fuck it. We can figure that out later.”

This was
the start of a new friendship, something that I, overlord of the Black Hills
and future master of the world, approve of.

*
* *

Following
two and a half days of inspections and examinations, Lizzy turned her attention
to the stack of performance reviews and reports Renee had compiled during our
war with the raiders. Those proved to be minimal. Renee might not hate
paperwork the way Lizzy did, but she was concise and to the point.

The
evaluations didn’t offer anything new. Lizzy made certain she knew everyone in
the militia and kept abreast of problems. She wasn’t about to let some issue
grow and fester. Lizzy was also quick to put an end to burgeoning interpersonal
conflicts. Getting into fights, real fights, or messing around with another’s
significant other was a serious no no. People did not have to like one another,
but they were required to work together in a productive, civilized manner.

The
reports were more interesting, and Lizzy found herself engrossed with Renee’s
description of what happened when she took out the small band of raiders. The
speed and skill with which the team subdued the enemy was worthy of praise.
However, the torture that followed was distasteful, even if Lizzy personally did
not give a damn how much they suffered. Still, that didn’t mean she wanted
details of what happened floating around. Lizzy burned the relevant section and
tacked on an addendum which stated extreme interrogation measures were taken to
ensure no imminent attacks were being prepared and that no innocent lives were
in danger. That sounded better.

On one
of my seemingly endless personal notes, I am going to state that while our
records have been shortened, but in no way falsified, I have not done the same
with this composition. My memoirs are mine to do with as I please.

Chapter X

“What
did you bring us?” asked Briana.

“No
asking how it went first? You’re just going straight to what I might have
gotten for you?”

“Yeah,”
added Mary, “what’s up with that? Shame on you. Greedy, greedy, greedy.”

“I want
presents,” said Asher. “Mommy said presents.”

Mary
picked him up. “We do. I have a sparkly, shiny piece of quartz for you. That’s
a super special rock.”

“Rocks!”
He clapped his hands with glee.

You
never know what’s going to make a little boy happy. Sometimes it’s toys. Other
days it’s frogs. Hopefully he wouldn’t bang the thing against the table.

Briana
smiled at the pair briefly before glaring at me. “I already know how the
fighting went. Ronnie told me when he dropped off the injured – I am so glad no
one got killed this time – and I got summaries from them too. They’re all doing
well by the way. The doctors and nurses say full recovery all around.”

“That’s
good to know.” I handed her the manifest. “Here’s what we got. You can have
Bruce and Steph work on getting it sorted later. Most are regular supplies, but
we do have some foodstuffs mixed in.”

“Stop
pulling my hair.” Mary pried his fingers away. “I mean it. That is not nice.”

“Asher,”
said Briana sternly, “you’ve been told not to do that. Do I need to start
counting?”

The boy
ignored his mother completely and grabbed Mary’s long blonde hair a second time.
In response, she swung him upside down and gave his bottom a good, solid whack.

“Asher!”
exclaimed Briana. “You are being naughty. We never pull hair.” She took him
from his sister and headed for the bedroom. “That’s it for you. Straight to
bed.”

“No!” he
wailed. “Not sleepy time! Wake up time!”

His
regular bedtime was only an hour off, so I didn’t think that argument was going
to work.

“Jacob!
Get some buckets so I can give him a bath.”

How I
wished we had proper plumbing. That was on the list of things to do, but, while
we did have ample electricity, the placement of our town and lack of a water
treatment facility kept it on the backburner. The best we had were cisterns,
wells, and a few small water towers.

“Mary, want
to help?”

“Well, I
was going to go see Michael.”

“How
about we fill the tub for Briana first? Then you can go have all the fun you
want. You will be back before midnight though. “

“Midnight!”

“Yes,
midnight.”

*
* *

“Where’s
Mary?”

Asher,
following a solid twenty minutes of crying, had finally dozed off. Briana,
still a little damp from his splashing, which was directly related to his
temper tantrum, had checked on him one final time before plopping herself on
the sofa.

“She’s
off with Michael, probably dancing.”

That
seemed to be her favorite activity of late. I never danced myself, both hating
it and lacking the coordination and grace to avoid looking like a complete
fool.

“How’s
your stomach?” I continued.

She grimaced.
“Not as bad today. I’ve been eating a lot of mild, tasteless soup. That seems
to help.”

“That’s
good. I don’t want you puking when we go to Hawaii.”

“Hawaii?
I am not moving to Hawaii.” She did not look pleased.

“No,” I
said, rather quickly. “I didn’t mean move there. We aren’t going to abandon
this place, not after all the work that went into it.” I was in full agreement.
The Black Hills was our home. “This will be a short vacation with work mixed
in, probably mostly work. The new president and senators want to meet us. Major
Briggs – he’s getting promoted – will be going too, along with some of
leadership over in Yellowstone.”

“Oh,
that’s different. I’ve never been there myself, but everyone I know who has
says it’s nice. Won’t be as good as before the dead, but the government swears
they’ve been cleaning it up fast. I guess we’ll be able to see if they’re
telling the truth or not. Who all is going and when?”

“We
leave on the thirtieth from one of the big Montana runways. Ronnie will fly us
over so we can meet the plane that’s coming in. It will be me and you and Asher
and Mary, a family trip.”

“And
Tara and Dale,” added Briana.

“Sweetie,
I can’t be dragging those two all over creation. It’s not fair to them.”

She
snorted. “They absolutely adore you, and they love being bodyguards. If you
leave them behind, that will hurt their feeling, big time. They are coming. I
want them around to keep an eye on us. They’re bringing their guns too. We all
are. I’ll give Asher a water pistol so he doesn’t feel left out.”

Briana’s
level of paranoia, or possibly preparation depending on one’s viewpoint, seemed
unusually high lately. It might be connected to her hormones, so I decided to
give in to her demands. Briana had periods of nuttiness during the pregnancy
with Asher and the months immediately following his birth, so this was very
possible. And, if so, there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

“I’ll
tell Major Briggs that the twins will be accompanying us as security and that
we are going to be armed. You know, we didn’t talk about taking our guns.”

“Why
would you? Really, Jacob, you spend so much time fighting that you are never
without at least a pistol. Pretty much everyone else here is carrying all the
time too. But they have cleared the islands of zombies and haven’t been
fighting any wars, so they probably aren’t as careful as we are. It better not
be an issue.”

There
was a tiny fraction of a second when I considered saying that since they had no
zombies and no enemies, there was no reason for us to be armed, but Briana was
correct about the way we lived. Having weapons at hand was an integral part of
day to day life. I likely would have gone right to the plane carrying as usual
without a second thought. It would be best to get things sorted out in advance,
in case they were sticklers for meaningless, insane restrictions.

“I’ll
talk to Briggs on the radio tomorrow.”

“Good,
but why couldn’t this have been months ago?” She turned dour. “I won’t even be
able to go to the beach.”

“You can
go. It’s summertime. I’m assuming it’ll be warm and sunny.”

“Yeah, I
can go wearing my fat maternity clothes.”

Briana
was anything but fat, and being pregnant was not the same thing. I constantly
told her how beautiful she was, but… I shouldn’t even go there.

*
* *

Mary
returned around ten o’clock, looking thoroughly disgusted.

“What’s
wrong?” asked Briana, gesturing to a chair.

The
seventeen year old joined us and kicked off her shoes.

“Weren’t
you supposed to be out with Michael?” I asked. “This is early for you.”

“Turns
out he is on patrol duty. I had to go all the way over to Venusville, where I
had to wait for Lizzy who was busy yelling at some poor guy for leaving the
seat up in the latrine, before I even found out.”

“That
still shouldn’t have taken nearly this long.”

She
began to pout. “Lizzy made me stay. They were going to kill a goat.”

“A
goat?” asked Briana.

Mary
nodded. “They were doing barbecue. I told her I was going to eat back at home,
but Lizzy got mad and said no, I was going to eat with her like old times and
that if I didn’t she would become angry.”

“Lizzy
said she would become angry?” Briana was justifiably skeptical. “Those were her
words.”

“I’m
paraphrasing so my tongue doesn’t burn up.”

I
chuckled. “Poor Lizzy is probably feeling left out. We don’t see her nearly as
much as we used to.”

“I
know.” Mary’s head dropped. “That’s why I hung around, even if she was being
bitchy. It wasn’t all bad though, not really. The goat tasted good.”

“Then
why so upset?”

“Briana!
It’s a three mile walk back, in the dark. Lizzy told me I was out of shape and
to hoof it. She wouldn’t give me a ride or even let me take a horse. That was
completely unfair and mean.”

I
stifled a laugh. “Yes, that was mean, but you can run it in under twenty
minutes if you want to. I’ve seen you do it.”

“Not
right after I eat!”

“Jacob
was telling me about Hawaii,” said Briana, shifting topics.

“That’s
going to be so much fun.” Mary brightened immediately. “Can Michael come with
us?”

Briana
shot me a look.

“Not on
this trip,” I said. “It’s just the family and the twins – they’re going as
security. Michael can join us tomorrow for a picnic, however, if he isn’t on
duty. Even if he is, I’m sure we can rearrange the schedule to clear a few
hours.”

“A picnic
will be nice,” admitted Mary, “but why can’t he go? We never get to do anything
together.”

“Don’t
start with that nonsense, young lady,” said Briana. “It’s not true.”

“Yes, it
is!”

“And
calm down. Asher was crying for practically forever before going to bed. If you
wake him, you get to sit in his room telling him stories until he falls asleep
again. I mean it.”

“Was he
that upset? I probably shouldn’t have spanked him like that.” Mary grew quiet.
She was a jumble of emotions tonight. “I felt bad afterwards.”

“He
pulled your hair, after being told not to,” I remarked. “Asher can’t go around
hurting people. If it takes a whack on the bottom to get that across, then he
gets spanked. It’s not like you were beating him.”

“Still
and all…”

“Besides,
as far as Asher is concerned, the early bath and bedtime were the real abuse.”

“Don’t
you dare question my parenting,” snapped Briana.

“I
wasn’t.”

Both
women were on a roll.

“Don’t
worry, we can take Michael on the picnic. I figure the two of you can go into
the cave and check for more petroglyphs. I don’t think anyone’s been in there
since we went with Rudy right after moving to the valley. See if you can find
more, and take lots of pictures. We’ll print them out and drop them off at
Hawaii. They might be interested.”

“And
when you’re in there, you keep the hanky panky to a minimum.”

“Briana!”

“I mean
it, Mary.” My wife rose and headed toward our bedroom. “No more than two kisses
for every three new discoveries. Those are the rules. It’s important to have
rules.”

“There
might not be three more spots with the carvings,” I said. “We only saw the one
place the last time.”

Briana
smirked. “Then I guess no kisses for Mary.”

“Please,
please don’t say any of this to Michael,” she pleaded.

“I can’t
make any guarantees.”

“Briana…”
Mary was begging.

“Okay, I
won’t tease either of you that way,” she conceded, “but it means the two of you
will be washing the dishes afterwards.”

“No
problem,” said Mary, relieved.

“She
teases worse than me,” I commented, after Briana closed the bedroom door.

“No one
teases worse than you, but Lizzy comes close.”

“Or,” I
continued, “Briana might have just set you up so you would happily agree to do
the cleaning.”

“She…
That’s not fair!”

*
* *

A closed
door meeting was held a few days later. This was conducted in one of the small
halls contained within the citadel’s walls, instead of our home as was more
common. The number of people involved was the primary reason. Mary having burned
some popcorn in the kitchen was another. Have you ever smelled burnt popcorn?
Dreadful, and it takes forever for the room to air out.

Due to
the fact there were so many participating I will not be including the dialogue.
For one, I can’t come close to remembering what was said. Secondly, the
discussions were detail oriented and became rather confusing at times.
Therefore, I will be providing a concise summary of what was decided. The topic
was how the governance of the Black Hills should be altered. We were operating
under the same system and with the same people put into place when we first
relocated. Some tinkering was in order.

Our
original positions were as follows:

Jacob      Consul

Briana     Consul

Lizzy       Head of Security

Steph       Head of Food Stores / Dining
Hall

Marcus    Head of Motor Pool

Bruce       Head of Material Stores /
Armories