A New Death (Savannah's Only Zombie Novel) (12 page)

As they passed under the ramp leading up to where the
Talmadge Bridge had once been, Tori caught herself looking towards South
Carolina across the river. She knew her dad was fine. He was a Marine to the
core. He would be fine. She just wished she knew that for sure. Parris Island
would be safe, but there was just no way to get there from here. Safety seemed
so close, but unobtainable. She tried to refocus her thoughts on something
else. The only thing that came to mind was: Lexx.

She didn’t know why she felt so attracted to the man. She
just met him. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was that made him so
irresistible. Maybe it was his macho attitude or his bravado. Or maybe it was
the fact that he was willing to sacrifice himself for a group of people he just
met. She saw characteristics in him that she saw in her father.

Oh, geez
, she thought.
I’m attracted to my father.

She shook the thought out of her head. Dr. Patel, the Base
shrink, would have had a field day with that little piece of information. Tori
was not even going to take herself down that road. Maybe it was the way Lexx’s
shirt was tight against his muscular build.

Yeah, let’s go with that.

***

Once the road was clear from any nearby undead, Jeremy came
to a stop. The others followed suit; they looked to Jeremy for a reason to as
why he stopped in the middle of the road. He glanced around quickly and then
back to the others.

“I think we should find a place to stay for the night,” he
said. “We lost a lot of time with those crazy hipsters and it will be dark in a
few hours. I wouldn’t normally ride through this area at nighttime, so now that
all hell has broken loose, I sure don’t want to.”

“Where do you recommend we stay then?” Tori asked. “In the
projects?”

She pointed over to the government housing that sat off in
the distant left. To be fair, the buildings were just rebuilt. The old ones,
dilapidated and worn down, were demolished, and cleared out for the new ones.
So, while they were new projects, they were nonetheless still “the projects.”

“Uh, no,” Jeremy said.

“Why not? Y’all scared of the ghetto?” Ben interjected, a
smile creeping up on his face.

The others looked at him with blank faces.

“Relax! I was just kidding,” he said. “I wouldn’t stay there
either.”

“Actually, I was thinking of staying in one of these
warehouses,” Jeremy continued. “The one last night seemed to work pretty good,
minus the whole zombie in the courtyard thing. We’ll just have to check the
perimeter better this time. We have a few hours to prepare as opposed to last
night’s midnight shack up.”

“Well, which one do you have in mind?” Lexx asked.

Jeremy looked around. There were quite a few to choose from.
Savannah had the third largest port on the Eastern seaboard and they were right
in its backyard. Warehouses were in no short supply. One side of road was all
industrial buildings and the other government housing. Ah, Savannah. They don’t
show all this on the travel shows on TV.

An older, faded white building caught Jeremy’s eye. It was
rather square and was surrounded by an eight foot tall chain-link fence. There
were stacks of wooden pallets and old oil drums lined against the fence. Jeremy
thought they could use those to help barricade and better secure the fences. He
looked back to the group, who was waiting for him to say something.

“Let's do that one,” he said pointing to the white building.

No one argued. They all cranked up their bikes and rode into
the fenced area. Jeremy was unsure if he liked everyone looking to him for
answers. He did not really want to be the leader. He would much rather someone
else lead. Everyone was older than him, Lexx and Ben more so. Why did they all
look to him?

“You still with us man?” Ben asked.

“Yeah,” Jeremy answered. “Just thinking, I guess.”

“Well start thinking about how we’re going to lock this
place down,” Tori said.

She playfully punched Jeremy in the arm. It was harder than
she intended and Jeremy smiled, rubbing his arm. He pointed over to the pallets
and barrels.

“We can probably use those to strengthen the fence a little.
Put pallets up against the fence and then barrels behind the pallets. Just to
help it from being pushed over. Not a hundred percent sure how to keep the
crazy ones out, but I don’t think anything will really stop them, y’know?”

“Uh, guys,” Lexx said, causing the others to all look at
him.

He was standing next to his scooter with the seat pulled up.
Underneath it was a compartment and it was filled with two boxes of ammunition.
One box of twelve gauge shotgun shells and the other ammo for the 30-06 rifle.
They all lit up and opened up their own scooters. Each one had a box of
ammunition.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Ben said, laughing as he
held up his box of 9mm bullets, the exact kind his and Jeremy’s pistols used.

Jeremy couldn’t believe it. They only had whatever ammo was
in the guns, but once that ran out, they’d have just really fancy bludgeons.
Now they might have a chance. Especially against the runners.

“Alright then,” Lexx said, his smiling fading. “Enough
lollygagging. Let’s get this place secure enough to sleep in!”

***

Once they finished with the outside, they made their way
into the warehouse. A few random zombies wandered the warehouse, but they were
quickly and quietly dispatched with the hand tools. Other than that, the
building was empty except for a few offices and a small store front near the
street side of the building. The warehouse itself was filled with shelving and
boxes of whatever it was they stored there. The labels made no sense to Jeremy.
They went into the office area and began to make camp there. There was a small
kitchenette area with a fridge and a sink.

“Please tell me they have a Coke in there! Dibs on the
Coke!” Lexx said as he ran up to the fridge.

He yanked open the door and there in all its glory was a
twelve-pack of Coca-Cola.

“Oh man, oh man, oh man. They’re still cold!”

He reached in, pulled one out, and opened it all in one
fluid movement. He had it down within a matter of seconds. Tori walked up
beside him.

“You gonna share any of those with us?”

“I don’t know,” he said between belches. “Still thinking
about it.”

This made her laugh. He smiled and handed her one, before he
opened and drank his second. She didn’t chug hers, but took a few sips before
setting it down. Her attention was fixed on the sink. She walked over to it and
paused before reaching for the faucet handle.

Water.

“Yes! Water's still on!” she yelled.

“Yeah, it’s still on in the bathroom too,” Ben yelled back
from another room.

Tori’s face lit up.

“I've got to pee so bad! Move!”

She ran off to the bathroom. Jeremy walked into the kitchen
area as she zoomed by. He smiled. It was funny how these things they took for
granted yesterday were now precious. A can of Coke, tap water, and working
bathrooms. Jeremy just shook his head.

Lexx handed him a Coke.

“Just so you know," Lexx started. “Me voluntarily
giving you a Coke means you’re alright in my eyes.”

“Cool,” Jeremy said, as he tilted the can back, chugging the
cold, carbonated beverage.

***

Tori and Jeremy were the only ones still awake. Lexx had
been the first one to fall asleep, probably crashing from his Coca-Cola induced
sugar high. Ben lasted a little longer, but he was also no match for the
exhaustion that had come over the group. A small desk lamp gave off enough
light to light up the room, but was dim enough to sleep with. Tori leaned back
in the office chair she claimed earlier.

“What did you do before all of this Jeremy?”

He looked up at her from his spot on the floor. Her question
took him off guard a bit. “Before all this.” Was it only yesterday that things
were normal?

“I worked at a grocery store. A cashier.”

“Oh, that sounds so exciting. Please, tell me more.”

He shot her a dirty look.

“You asked...”

She smiled.

“Sorry, sarcasm can be my default sometimes. Especially when
I’m exhausted. Don’t let me make you feel bad. At least you had a job,” she
said.

“What? You in school or something?” he said, straightening
himself up.

“I graduated a year ago. Right when I got out is when the
economy tanked. People didn't want to hire someone with no experience. Before I
went to college, everyone told me that in order to get experience, you needed a
degree in something! A lot of good that did me. Now I’m unemployed, living at
home with my dad, and really have nothing to show for my life. So, please don’t
let me make fun of you.’

“Well, good thing for this whole zombie apocalypse deal, huh?”
Jeremy said, trying to hide the smile creeping up on his lips.

“Aha! I see you too have been trained in the arts of sarcasm
and wit!”

They laughed quietly for a moment, before Lexx started to
stir. Tori held a finger up to her lips, trying to hold back her own laughter.
They waited a few seconds before starting their conversation back up. Lexx lay
silent and seemed to have fallen back into a deeper sleep.

“I guess we’ll have to be a little quieter,” she whispered.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Jeremy shook his head. His thoughts immediately went to
Ashley. He really regretted never working up the courage to ask her out. It was
too late for that now.

“There was a girl at work. Never asked her out though. She
was the first person I saw attacked,” he answered.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“No, it’s alright. We weren’t even really friends. I just
never worked up the nerve to ask her out.”

“So, have you ever had a girlfriend?”

“Yeah. One. Total bitch though. Cheated on me. Repeatedly.
We broke up and got back together throughout most of high school. Beginning of
senior year though, there was this nasty rumor going around about her blowing
one of the baseball players in the dugout. It was the final straw, so I broke
up with her for good.”

“Oh, wow.”

“Yeah, turns out the rumor wasn’t all the way true.”

“Oops. What did you do then?”

“Nothing. Turns out, she was blowing the
entire
baseball
team.”

“Wow,” Tori said. “That’s almost impressive.”

They both laughed.

“Alright Dr. Drew, stop grilling me on my love life. What
about you? Boyfriend?”

Tori laughed again.

“I had a few, but once they realized how independent I was,
it didn’t take long for them to hit the road. I was actually waiting for a
blind date when everything went to shit.”

She looked over to Lexx.

‘You like him don’t you?”

“What? No!” she said, slightly raising her voice.

“Tori likes Lexx, Tori likes Lexx,” Jeremy began to chant
quietly in sing-song.

“What are you six? Shut up!”

“You love him,” he said in the most annoying voice he could
make.

“Shut up. I will shoot you.”

She started to mock-reach for her gun sitting on the office
desk, when a crash came from out in front of the building. They both looked at
each other as the ruckus grew louder. There were moans. And a lot of yelling
and swearing.

Tori kicked Lexx, as she grabbed the shotgun off the desk
and ran towards the front.

“Get up!” she yelled.

“Huh? What?” the man said in a half-awake stupor.

But she was already gone. Jeremy was right behind her, rifle
in hand. They did not wait for Lexx and Ben to wake up. The commotion out front
was getting louder. Profanity-laced yelling filled the air. When they reached
the boarded-up front door, Tori pressed her ear up against it.

“There’s someone out there. Someone alive,” she said.

She looked back at Jeremy to see what they should do. Lexx
and Ben came into the room.

“What the hell is going on?” Lexx stammered, holding his
side.

“Ssh! Someone’s outside. Sounds like they’re in trouble,”
Tori said.

“So? What do you want to do about it?” Lexx asked back.

Again, she looked to Jeremy. He ran his hand through his
hair, his mind racing on what to do. They very easily could just not do
anything. That would be safe. But it would also be extremely shady. Jeremy
couldn’t picture himself just leaving someone to die. His mind went to the
Padre. The Padre could have left Jeremy on the side of the road to fend for
himself, but he took him in. Not only that, but he died so Jeremy could escape.
He risked his life twice for someone he didn’t know.

I’ll be damned if I won’t do the same
, he thought.

“Lexx, you and Ben come with me. Tori, you wait by this door
and when you hear the signal, open it, and get them inside,” Jeremy commanded.

“What signal?” she asked.

“I don’t know, something loud!” he yelled, as he and the
other men ran for the back door.

***

Once they got outside, Jeremy looked over their improvised
wall of pallets against the fence and was surprised by what he saw. In the
midst of a growing swarm of the dead, was one man.

One.

Now granted, the man was huge. Probably six and half feet
easy, the man’s large frame towered over most of the dead. He sported a full
beard and was wearing a light blue, button-down work shirt. Jeremy couldn’t
make out what the name tag said. The weapon he was using looked to be one of those
emergency fire axes from the glass cases that say, ‘Break in Case of
Emergency.’

I guess this could be considered an emergency
, Jeremy
thought.

The man swung it with deadly accuracy. Zombies fell like
timber left and right. Limbs and appendages were flying. One zombie got close
only to receive the butt end of the handle before the axe head came crashing
down on its skull. Grey matter flew out from the opening. The man yanked the
axe from the zombie’s brain and swung wide, catching two others who seemed to
be just too close for comfort.

“Damn. I don’t think this guy even needs our help,” Lexx
said. “He looks like a fuckin’ lumberjack out there.”

Ben let out a chuckle as the three men watched on as the
“Lumberjack” laid waste to the dead around him. They just kept coming and he
just kept chopping them down. One down. Another. And another. The bodies were
starting to fill the street. But their numbers weren’t slowing down. They
seemed to be coming from the direction of the housing projects. Jeremy could see
a large group of them making their way over to the scene. Perhaps twenty or so.

I don’t care who you are,
Jeremy thought.
There’s
no way to defend yourself against twenty of them at once.

“Ben, how are you with a rifle?” he said out loud.

“I’m a card carrying member of the NRA, so pretty good. Once
deer season opens, me and my dad are out there every weekend. Got plenty of
meat in the freezer to back it up.”

“Good,” Jeremy said. “Take the rifle and go find yourself a
place where you can see the street over the fence. Lexx come with me.”

Jeremy handed the rifle to Ben and motioned for Lexx to
follow him. Earlier that day, he noticed that a few of the barrels still had
something in them. He wasn’t sure what the liquid was, but the sides of the
barrels said they were flammable. They put them off to the side of the yard,
out of the way of any danger.

“My plan is,” he said turning to Lexx. “Take one of those
barrels with stuff in it and get it up over the fence. We’ll roll it out over
the street away from the guy. Once it gets far enough away and maybe draws some
of the z’s towards it, Ben will take the shot and we’ll find out exactly how
flammable that stuff is.”

Lexx nodded with a large grin and began rolling the barrel
to the fence. Jeremy relayed the plan to Ben real quick, who was perched up on
a few barrels and hidden behind a pallet. He nodded and took aim towards the
street. Jeremy jumped up next to him.

“Hey guy!” he yelled. “Run for the front door!”

The Lumberjack heard him and looked at the front door before
bringing his axe down on the neck of a dead woman, separating head from
shoulder. He pulled his axe free and began to make his way towards the front
door. Jeremy nodded to Lexx and both men lifted the barrel up over their heads
and over the fence. It fell with a bang, catching the attention of a few
zombies. As it began to roll away from the fence, more noticed, and began to
follow it.

Like moths to a flame
, Jeremy thought.

It hit the curb on the other side of the four-lane road.
Most of the dead had lost interest in the Lumberjack and were now banging on
the barrel. The group from the projects was just finally making their way to
the street and also began to swarm the barrel.

“You got a shot?” Jeremy shouted to Ben.

He nodded and took a breath. As his finger tightened around
the trigger, he felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face and before
it hit the ground, he heard the click of the trigger mechanism.

Boom.

The shockwave of the explosion sent zombie body parts flying
and the men ducking for cover. Pieces of rotting, burning flesh rained down
from the sky. Jeremy glanced up to see if the Lumberjack was able to get
inside. He saw the door swing open and the man make it inside. Tori had
apparently gotten the signal.

***

“Thanks,” the man said as Lexx handed him a Coke from the
fridge.

He sat in one of the office chairs, resting from the frenzy
outside.

Even sitting down the man seemed massive,
Jeremy
thought.

His shirt was drenched in blood. Some was old, some fresh.
He looked to be in his early forties. It was hard to tell with the thickness of
his beard.

“What were you doing out there?” Tori asked, finally
breaking the tense silence.

He looked at her.

“Not dying.”

Tori seemed to realize her question struck a nerve with the
man, so she bit her lip, and folded her arms in front of her.

“I think what she meant,” Jeremy said, looking at Tori. “How
did you end up out there? Where did you come from and why are you traveling the
streets at night?”

The man looked at Jeremy. He looked exhausted. Dark circles
had formed around the man’s eyes. His beard was peppered with grey.

“Look, I haven’t slept in two days,” the man sighed. “I’ll
tell you what brought me here, but then I got to get some sleep.”

“That seems fair to me,” Jeremy said.

The man rested his face in his hands and drew in a deep
breath. He rubbed his face and then proceeded to tell his story.