White Flag of the Dead (8 page)

I didn’t hear any more groans, so I stepped off the chair and started back toward the house; as I did, a figure suddenly appeared in the window of my neighbors’ house. I was startled enough to raise my weapon and get a sight picture before I realized it was Erica, my neighbor’s daughter. She raised both hands and her eyes got really huge. I lowered the weapon and gave her a thumbs- up, hoping it was reassuring. She smiled and waved, and retreated from the window. I went back inside and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what I was going to do about my stairs.

6

During the night, the gas turned off. I didn’t realize it until morning, when I went to take a quick shower that hot water was gone. This was not convenient. Not unexpected, but still inconvenient. Well, it was only a matter of time. Jake was going to have to get used to some room-temperature baths. I filled a gallon jug and placed it in the sun, figuring it would help a little. Jake was a little trooper; in his world, as long as daddy was around and somebody, didn’t matter who, changed his diapers, his day was golden.

Speaking of diapers, I realized that things were critical when it came to diapers. I needed to get another supply and do it today. I didn’t want to have to leave the homestead, but I needed some things and I needed to go as soon as possible before everything had been looted and taken. I wasn’t sure about the looting, but with police pretty much non-existent, and the National Guard pulled back to the safe center, if there was one. People were pretty much on their own. And as any disaster survivor will tell you, calamity brings out the best and worst in people. That’s just the way it was. Besides, I needed to get out there and see just how bad things were. For all I knew, it wasn’t too bad. Yeah right, and maybe I’ll be named king next week.

I packed Jakey up in his car seat and got myself ready. I had my big crowbar out in the car, and I had my ever-present SIG. I took my Winchester with me as heavy firepower, figuring that if I couldn’t get it done with full power 45 Colt loads, it couldn’t be done. I had eleven rounds in the gun and put ten more in my pocket. If it came to a firefight, I was bugging out. I had Jake with me and couldn’t take chances. The lever gun had been a faithful companion, and I felt more secure in taking a shot with it than most of my other guns. Besides, with my Cowboy Action Shooting practice, I could empty that gun fairly quickly.

I checked the street before I opened up the door, as I didn’t want to have to engage a zombie right off the bat if I could avoid it. I unlocked the door and rolled it up as quietly as I could. No one was in sight, so I re-engaged the lock and started the car. I pulled out of the garage and headed out into the street, closing the garage door behind me. I had locked the door leading to the house, so I wasn’t worried about zombies breaking into my home if they managed to get into the garage.

I drove through the neighborhood, again noting the signs of violence and hasty exits. No cars blocked the way, which was good, so I was able to head to the main road fairly quickly. I did see a few zombies, and they turned towards me, but lost interest after I pulled from their sight and they saw they couldn’t catch me.

I drove down to the crossroad, a small highway tucked away from the main roads. It had a couple of cars parked on the side of the road, and a car was in the ditch by the local body shop. All the businesses were closed, and the golf course on the west side of the street was deserted, except for some zombies strolling around the eighth green. They were interested in something in the water, so I didn’t think it was polite to disturb them.

I turned up towards the main road and found a few more abandoned cars. Some had blood in the interior, and more than one had a corpse in it. Several had movement, and I could see that the zombies were trapped in the cars, unable to figure out how to free themselves. I drove the car into the small lane that went between a gas station and a bank, and led to the drug store around the back.

Immediately, I sensed something was wrong. A car had been forced to the side of the lot near the back, two other cars bracketing it and preventing it from moving. I drove to the side of the building and parked it under the drive-through. It was out of the way and in the shade, and gave me a chance to hide the car and Jake. I was not going to bring him with, as he was safer in the car, and if I needed to move quickly, I didn’t want to have to worry about him. Besides, he was falling asleep, so he wouldn’t miss anything important.

I got out of the car and cautiously approached the other vehicles. The forced car had its doors still open, and I could hear the faint dinging of the open door warning. The other two cars were closed, and I could see a lot of beer cans and cigarette packs in the back of the vehicles. As I went closer, I could see a pair of legs by the front of the vehicle. Bringing my gun up, I eased the hammer back and approached the legs, not happy about what I might find. As I reached the front, I could see that the legs belonged to a man, probably in his thirties, lying in a semi-fetal position. He had not been killed by zombies, that much I could figure out by the way his throat was cut. His blood had spilled out over the pavement and pooled at the edge of the drive. There was nothing I could do for him so I turned back the way I came. That’s when I saw the woman.

She was lying face down in the ditch, and was naked from the waist down. Dirty hand prints covered her legs and ankles. What clothes were on her were ripped and torn, and her hands clawed the dirt. A single knife stuck out from between her shoulder blades. She had died hard and in pain. I began to realize what had happened. This couple had been trying to escape, and been forced off the road by these marauders. They dragged the man out and likely forced him to watch his wife being raped. They then killed them both. Since there was no hope of police action, this was done for the pure pleasure of it. My jaw tightened and I breathed out heavily. As I turned back, I saw something that made my blood run cold. In the back of the car was an empty car seat. If there was a child, where was it now? Was it even alive? Anything left with animals that would do this would surely suffer.

I walked back to my car and checked on Jake. He was still sleeping, but wouldn’t for long. I needed to get what I needed and get out of here. As I stepped back to the lot, I realized I needed to make sure I wasn’t followed. I ran back to the cars and, using my knife, slashed the tires on all three vehicles.

I went to the side of the building and walked carefully to the front. I began to hear voices from the opening, which I could see had been smashed open. I had no idea why I was going in the building, how many I was facing, or what I planned on doing. But there was a child in danger, and no matter how badly I wanted to cut and run, I could not give up on that child.

I held my rifle at the ready and walked inside. The aisles had been trashed, and a lot of stuff was all over the floor. I stepped carefully around a waterfall of makeup, and headed towards the back of the store where the voices were. I stayed at the edge of the store, trying to stay out of sight of the big mirrors on the back wall. I could see at least three people near the pharmacy, and could hear more grabbing things off the shelves.

As I moved closer, I cocked the hammer back on my SIG, loosening it in its holster. The hammer was still back on my Winchester, and I moved closer to the pharmacy.

The three punks I could see were leaning on the counter, talking to the ones in the back. I figured there were five of them, and I could see they had been busy. Even in the relative darkness of the store I could see them sporting several gold watches and chains, and I could see guns tucked in the waistbands of two of them. They were all about eighteen years old, and were relatively well-dressed. It didn’t make sense what they were doing, and their crime was even more horrific for it. I worried even more about the child. Where was it? I slowly angled out to the left and raised my rifle. I could see out the drive-up window, and thanked God I hadn’t parked further back, or they would have seen me and Jake.

I didn’t waste time with small talk. “Where’s the child?” I said.

The reaction was immediate. As one, the three spun around and two hands streaked for their waists. “Don’t!” I yelled, stepping into the dim light of the window and showing them I had the drop on them. “You’ll never make it.” I heard some muttering coming from the pharmacy and called to them. “You two in the back! Come out now and have your hands up!”

The closest one, an oily bastard if I ever saw one, sneered and said, “You a cop?”

I shook my head as the other two made their appearance. “You’re not that lucky. I don’t have rules to play by like cops do.” I noted that one of the ones from the back had deep scratches on his face, like someone had been fighting him. I could guess where he had gotten them. “Where’s the child?” I asked again.

Oily sneered. “Fuck you.”

I didn’t say a word. I just shot him in the chest. He flew back from the impact and slammed against the counter. He fell onto his face and his companions could see the four inch hole the heavy slug had created as it exited his body. They all stood stock still and raised their hands higher.

My face was stone cold as I pointed the gun at the next one in line, a slender blonde kid who looked like he had just started shaving a week ago. “Where’s the child?”

The blonde started to shake, and couldn’t answer. His partner, a heavy kid with greasy hair and a bad complexion, reached for the gun at his waist. I swung the rifle on him and shot him in the mouth as he screamed. The back of his head blew all over the pharmacy, and he fell back like a tree, thudding into the ground.

I pointed the rifle again at the blonde, and kept my eyes on the remaining two kids. “Where?”

The blonde kid shrugged and I brought the gun to within an inch of his face. The .45 inch hole at the end of the barrel must have seemed like a garage from that vantage point. “I`m not going to ask again. Where is the child who belonged to the father whose throat you cut and the mother who you raped and stabbed?
Where
?” I screamed in his face.

The blonde kid said nothing, he just looked up towards the camera counter. I didn’t look but I was afraid of what I would find. At that moment, the blonde kid said exactly the wrong thing. He smiled at me and said “Did you want her for yourself?”

I lowered my rifle and casually shot him in the gut. He folded in half and crashed back, landing in a heap by the counter. He shrieked and grabbed at his stomach, trying to hold in his guts and screamed himself to death at the same time. His companions looked in horror and one of them managed to wet himself. I kicked them back to the counter to sit amongst their dead and dying companions. “If either of you move, I will kill you.” My voice was ice and I could not imagine myself with more anger than I felt at that moment. They nodded their heads and tried to shift away from the growing pools of blood. The blonde kid continued to scream, but he was running out of steam. I grabbed their weapons and threw them towards the front of the store.

I had to move. The shots and screams had likely attracted attention, and I needed to get out of here as fast as possible. I moved to the baby aisle and grabbed bags of diapers. I headed to the back of the store, pausing to fire a shot at one of the kids who tried to move. He ducked as the bullet clipped near his head, then he held stock still. I went out the back door and loaded the trunk of the car. Jake was still sleeping, but I didn’t have much time. I ran back in and grabbed more diapers, pausing to snare a small first aid kit as well. I threw the items in the trunk and went back in one more time. I needed to know something and know it now. As I made my way to the front, I could see shadows in the parking lot, and I didn’t have any more time. I reached the camera counter and looked over, afraid of what I would see.

A small girl was one the floor, no older than 18 months. Her brown hair lay in small rings around her face. A large bruise was on her forehead, and she looked to have other bruises due to some rough treatment by the scum at the back.

As I reached down to check to see if she had a pulse, her eyes popped open and she jerked away from me. She immediately started crying and tried to crawl away behind the photo machine.

“Hey, sweetie! Don’t cry. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to take you out of here. Okay?” I tried to be as reassuring as I could, although I could feel a rising anxiety as some low groans began to start at the entrance of the building. “Come on, sweetheart, we need to go.” I can only imagine what I looked like in the darkened store, but I held out my hand, and as trusting as kids can be, thank God, she took it and came to me.

I scooped her up and ran back to the back door, just as the first zombies came walking in the smashed front entrance. I passed the two on the floor, who were just starting to edge away from their companions. “Good luck!” I shouted as I bolted out the door and ran for the car. The little girl started crying again, and I buckled her in faster than a NASCAR pit crew member. I jumped into the car and drove away, checking the building and seeing about ten zombies wander in the front door.
Better than you bastards deserve
, I thought, as I passed the three cars.
Much better
.

I made it back to my subdivision without incident, and the little girl had stopped her crying and started sucking her thumb. Jake had awakened and was fascinated by the new child in his life. He tried every method of flirting he could think of, from smiling to drooling to expansive farting. The little girl seemed oblivious. As I headed down the street I saw my neighbors, Todd and Naomi and their daughter coming out of the side street. I flagged him down and he stopped.

“We’re heading out, John. You and Jake want to come with?” Todd asked me.

I shook my head. “I think we’ll be fine here, thanks anyway. Where are you headed?”

Todd shrugged. “We’re going to try to see if the state center is safe. If not, we’ll head to the cabin outside of Jacksonville. We can live pretty well there till this blows over.”