White Flag of the Dead (38 page)

We drove in silence, the only sound was the click of ammunition into magazines as Tommy topped off his rifle and handgun. Charlie topped off Duncan’s magazines and handed them back to him. Charlie then tapped me on my shoulder and I handed my knife back to him. Charlie sharpened the knife slowly with a small whetstone he carried in his pouch for his tomahawks, the rasping sound stroking the fire of revenge and nearly causing me to urge Duncan to drive faster. We wanted to fight, to kill, but we also wanted to come out alive.

We turned south on Bell Road and when we came to the top of a hill, I motioned Duncan to pull over. I got out and pulled my binoculars out from my pack. From behind a tree, I looked out towards the massive home improvement building. I could see several vehicles, including a small fleet of snowmobiles and motorcycles. That in itself was not an indication that Sarah was there, but it did give me enough to investigate further. I didn’t see any guards or watchmen, so I figured it was safe to proceed.

Going back to the vehicle, I directed Duncan to drive slowly down the hill, so as to attract as little attention as possible. There was a house on a small bit of land next to the store, so I told Duncan to turn in there. It was about a hundred yards from the building, and would serve as a rally point. I looked at the building again, and still didn’t see any lookouts or guards. Strange.

I got out of the car and the other men did the same. We passed out the radios and I signaled for Tommy and Duncan to scout the back of the building while Charlie and I headed for the front. The garden center seemed to be the place where they came and went, so I wanted to see about alternate entry.

Moving quickly, Charlie and I crossed the parking lot and worked our way to the front of the building. A pile of bricks and paving stones covered the exit doors, so there was no worry of being seen from there. We went over to the front door and found it to be similarly blocked. I hunkered down and used the radio.

“Tommy, do you read, over.” I clicked the radio twice.

“Loud and clear, over” came the reply.

“The front is blocked, how’s the back? Over.” I asked.

“Same. Looks like the only way in is through the garden center. Over.”

“Right. Meet you in five. Over.” I motioned to Charlie and we made our way to the Garden Center exit. Waiting a moment, we saw Tommy and Duncan come around the corner and join up with us. I motioned Tommy and Duncan to move to the right while Charlie and I would move to the left.

We slid into the Garden center and worked our way along the wall. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for an odd lack of garden tools along the south wall. We reached the interior door and waited for Tommy and Duncan to clear the other side. The door to the inside was a large garage-type door, and very effective against zombies. But not so effective against people who retained their fine motor skills.

Charlie tested the door and found it to be locked. Moving to the other door, he tried it and it was open. Not wanting to announce our presence just yet, we conferred briefly and decided to try stealth and see if it worked. Opening the door slightly and with as little motion as possible, Charlie and I pulled up the door about three inches very slowly, with Tommy and Duncan on their stomachs with their rifles at the ready in case of detection.

Getting the thumbs up, Charlie and I raised the door a few more inches. We waited for the signal from Duncan, then raised it another few inches. Not arousing any undue attention, I bent down and looked to the right while Charlie checked to the left. I didn’t see anything and Charlie signaled he didn’t see anything either. Nodding, we rolled under the door and into the building. Coming up into a crouch I covered the right while Charlie covered the left, and Duncan and Tommy rolled out from underneath the door. We could hear a large number of voices, and they seemed to be coming from the center of the building. We moved along a storage corridor which ran the length of the building, edging closer to the source of the noise. There was a lot of trash and discarded items littering the walkway. There was a humming noise coming from somewhere which sounded familiar, but I was uninterested in anything but getting Sarah and Kristen back.

We moved towards the back of the dark building and heard a cheer go up from the voices. A scream sounded briefly and I could hear cursing. Gritting my teeth I moved forward to an opening in the wall which led to the main floor. I looked around the corner and got my first look at my enemy. It was a group of teenagers, roughly 20-25 of them. They were wearing the most outrageous collection of clothing I had ever seen. The girls were wearing loops of necklaces and fur coats, while the boys wore leather coats and designer jeans. Abercrombie was well-represented, as was Hollister and GAP. They were standing on a platform that overlooked the store, and were cheering on some sort of dispute happening on the floor. Hawaiian torches lit the scene in grim shades of orange and red. I heard a smacking sound, another curse, and then a thud like someone being hit in the gut. Another cheer arose and then a voice rang out, silencing the group.

“Enough! Enough! She will be judged and sentenced in due time. Your vengeance will wait, Devon. Move away. Bring the other up here.”

I couldn’t see the speaker, but he sounded young like the rest of the group. I began to wonder about what was happening here and how all these kids managed to assemble in one place and survive. We slid out slowly, keeping to the back wall and working my way through appliances. If everyone was gathered at the center platform, then we could move undetected until we were in place. I hunkered down and outlined a plan to the other men. It was bold, it was crazy, and would likely get us all killed, but I didn’t have any choice. These kids had degenerated into beasts, and I would treat them as I would any other rabid animal.

We split up and I headed towards the tool section, being careful not to knock over anything or cause any noise to attract attention before I was ready. When I reached the end of the aisle, I had to be careful, because I would be in sight of the teens. I kept hearing an odd clicking sound, and it sounded eerily familiar, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I was about to make my move to cross the aisle when I heard the leader speak again.

“It’s time for punishment!” This elicited a chorus of cheers. “We found this man stealing from us. His partner we killed, but this one we caught! He has been judged and found guilty!” Another cheer. “Have you anything to say?”

“You can’t do this! I have rights! You can’t do this to me!” came the squealing reply.

I was stunned. I knew that voice. I leaped across the opening to give myself a better view from another aisle. I slowly raised my head until I could see the platform. Standing on what looked like a plank from a pirate ship was none other than Kevin Pierce. His hands were tied behind his back and he looked much worse for wear. His face was cut and he was only wearing his boxers. So his partner Frank was dead, hmm? Even in this situation good news could be found. I made a mental note to call Nate when we finished here. I looked down to what he was standing over and my blood froze in horror. In a ten foot by ten foot by six foot pen of chain link fencing, surrounded by a second, smaller fence to keep people from accidentally bumping into it was a nightmare. Zombie heads filled the pen, and because the brain was still intact, they were still alive. Their grotesque mouths opened and closed, and their dead eyes darted around. Those on top of the pile stared at the meal suspended before them, those on the bottom were twisted into horrible, contorted faces as the crush pressed on them. The teeth of the zombies clacked together, causing the clicking sound I had heard earlier.

Like a pool full of piranhas
, I thought, starting to bring up my rifle. I hesitated, though, because I didn’t know if the other men were in position yet and I didn’t want to start the ball without them being ready.

A scream caught my attention and I looked up at Kevin being pushed out further onto the plank. He was being shoved by a long pole, and his tormentors were clearly enjoying what they were doing. Kevin knew what awaited him in that pen, and I could see the tears running down his cheeks as he cried for mercy. “I know who you want! I know where he is! You have his woman! He’ll come to you! You can kill him! Don’t let me die! You need me!” Kevin’s voice started to crack as he pleaded with his captors, who jeered and laughed at him.

“Silence!” The leader’s voice broke out amid the din, and the noise subsided. A tall, skinny kid of about nineteen years old stepped forward and grabbed the pole from his minion. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place where I might have seen him before. “I know what I need to know. And I don’t need you.” With that he swung the pole, smashing Kevin across the back of his knees, causing him to buckle and fall onto the plank. He tried to grip the board with his legs, but he slipped and fell headfirst into the pit of heads. He screamed for a long time as the zombie heads slowly tore him apart. It was particularly gruesome to see the ones on the bottom lick the blood off their faces and see their eyes dart around for the source. I saw a head chewing on a piece of meat, swallow it, and the next head below it eating what came out of the severed throat. This process continued until the bits of chewed flesh were ground up to fine bits of pulpy mess. Kevin’s bones were attacked until there was nothing left on them.

The crowd on the platform watched the grisly scene in captivation. Then they turned to each other and started gyrating and making out. I shook my head and moved to another aisle, confident I would not be seen.

When I cleared the next aisle, I saw another pen, this one holding a single figure. She was standing with her arms at her sides, and even from behind I knew that pose. Sarah. I thanked God and every other deity I could think of that she was still safe. I wondered briefly where Kristen was when I felt my radio vibrate. I smiled to myself. Tommy, Duncan and Charlie were in position. Time to get moving. I almost stood up when I heard the leader start to shout.

“You see that pit, bitch? You want to join your friend? I want to know where your people are and you’re going to tell me!” I heard the sound of a slap and a quick intake of air. “You’re going to die, bitch, and your little tough-guy bitch friend as well. But we’re going to make you two suffer first. Put her on the rack!” I heard a scream and another slap, followed by some more cheering. I heard a girl’s voice snarl and a thump like someone had been hit on the head.

I needed to let Sarah know we were there and to get down when the shooting started, because it was going to start soon. But how would she know we were there? Think, think, think. I was running out of time. I was hearing cheers again and the leader yelling “I will choose who is first!” I quickly got out a picture of Jake I kept with me and folded it in half, then half again. It was small to begin with, but I needed to make sure it would go unnoticed when I threw it.

Saying a small prayer I tossed the picture at the defiant figure in the other pen, clearing the side of the cage and dropping it in front of her. I saw her body twitch at the intrusion and saw her slowly bend down and pick up the picture.

I nearly shouted with the success but I had to save Kristen first. I moved to the front of the aisle and looked up again at the platform. The fire that had been inside suddenly burned brightly as I saw Kristen, the little girl who I had trusted to watch my son with, was tied to a large “X” made out of timbers. Her head was hanging down and the leader was slowly striping her clothing off with a large knife. I could see a trickle of blood running down her cheek from a cut on her head. She seemed to be unconscious, which seemed to add to the enjoyment by the group.

I checked the availability of my magazines and made sure the safety was off on my M1A. My original thought of just getting the women back was replaced with another. I was going to kill every one of these sons-of-bitches.

The leader was yelling at Kristen as he cut her clothes. “Where’s your precious leader? Who’s going to save your sweet ass?
Where, bitch
?” he screamed into her unresponsive face.

“Right here.” I said loudly, stepping out into the open and aiming my rifle at the leader, who jumped and nearly dropped the knife. He regained his poise quickly enough, and turned to face me.

“So you’re the famous John Talon everyone seems to think so highly of.” He paused to cut away another piece of Kristen’s clothing. “I was hoping you’d come to call. I was looking forward to coming to you, but this works, too. Where’s your brat?”

Apparently, Kevin had been talking quite a bit. Likely Frank had, too. “None of your business.” I said. “You have three seconds to cut down that girl and release my other friend or I will open fire.”

“Johnny!” The kid said disapprovingly. “We don’t need to have such hostility. We haven’t even been introduced. My name,” he paused for effect. “Is Cole Tieman. These are my people.” He gestured behind him and I was greeted with a chorus of jeers and one fingered salutes. “My woman, Tina Reyes,” Cole held out a hand and a pretty dark haired girl stepped forward. “My lieutenant, Devon Hunter and his woman Rayanne Davis.” Cole gestured with his other hand and a tall black teen stepped forward, glaring hatred at me. His girlfriend was just as hard.

“Forgive my lieutenant’s demeanor. He is upset at your woman killing his brother. She is your woman, correct?” His voice was oily and I was irritated at the sound of it.

I flicked my eyes to Sarah, who was looking at me with a mixture of relief and fear from the pen. “Yes.” was all I said.

“Devon will kill her, when I let him. You understand that, don’t you Johnny?” Cole handed the knife to his woman who resumed the removal of Kristen’s clothing. “My own brother was killed last year, shot down like a dog when all he wanted to do was to have a little fun at the end of the world.” Cole held a slender hand to his head and I began to realize why these people followed him. He was clearly unstable.

Cole continued. “You understand, don’t you Johnny? You understand my loss?”