All That I See - 02 (33 page)

Chapter 39

I drove toward the spot on the map Somerville had indicated. As we got near, I could see the high levee stretching across in front of me. The
road passed through it, however
it too was gated. There was a shorter concrete flood wall here that was embedded in the levee on either side. It was there to provide support for the floodgate. Parked in the road in front of the gate were two SUVs and one of them had a boat on a trailer hitched to the back. This was them.

“Found them!” I called out. I parked the RV and climbed out.

The vehicles were unoccupied.

I heard the side door open on the RV. I turned to look. Somerville was bracing himself in the doorway.

“Are they okay?” he said.

“They’re not here,” I said. “I’m going over to look around.”

I climbed up the steep incline to the top of the levee. The river wasn’t close. It was maybe a quarter of a mile away. Between it and me, with woods on either side, were three warehouses and a large, paved parking lot full of trucks and trailers. There were railroad tracks and loading platforms in there, too. Out in the river were huge concrete docks. Another coal barge was moored to one.

The grounds appeared to be deserted. I didn’t understand why the floodgate was closed or why Ben Parks had not pulled his vehicles to the river side of the levee. Maybe the gate was closed when he got there, and he couldn’t get it open. I went down the hill to the interior.

There was something about the stillness and quiet that made me uneasy. The hair stood up on my arms, and I shivered. I could still hear the low roar of the horde in
Riverton
but they were far away and posed no danger to me. This was something else; there was something here that wasn’t right. I ignored my instincts and followed the road toward the facilities.

The railroad tracks were about a hundred yards from the levee and ran parallel to it for as far as I could see. I knew it eventually crossed to the other side of the barrier, but I would have to check the map to see where. There was a train on the tracks in the distance off to my right. Nearer, there was a switch, and the track split off in three places to access the warehouses’ loading platforms. Then they rejoined the main track again at a second set of switches off to my left.

I crossed the tracks and stopped to listen. I didn’t even hear birds. Although I saw nothing, I pulled the pistol. I continued walking. Rather than go into the warehouses, I decided to walk down to the river. I went by the rows of semi-trailers, and then there were the trucks--some with trailers and some without—that seemed to watch me as I passed, their headlights like the eyes on a painting following me. The place felt haunted. 

I went out onto one of the docks and stopped at the edge. I looked down between the dock platform and the barge that was moored to it. The water lapped and sloshed against the metal side of the vessel. There was a body down there, too, bobbing in and out of view.

Somerville was right; I could see
Riverton
’s riverfront from here. Things there looked just as bad from this vantage. Out in the river, hundreds of undead floated by with the current. Most didn’t fight it; they just let the river carry them. I imagined them connecting with the Mississippi River in a few miles, then travelling south until some or most of them were flushed out into the Gulf of Mexico. Others would drift toward shore somewhere en route to be snagged by the debris that littered the river banks. Some of these I watched pass by might have even started father away—perhaps in eastern Kentucky or farther still in West Virginia or Pennsylvania. Under different circumstances, it might have made an interesting study for scientists. The things could be tagged and their movements tracked. A researcher in New York could scratch his head and wonder how his zombie wound up in South America.

I still had to check the warehouses, but I didn’t think I’d find them
t
here. My guess was that the group pulled up outside the levee, climbed over the way I had done, and then found a boat to take them across. They might have even decided to stay on the river rather than their original route over land; it would have been quicker.

I looked down the river to the west. It was clear of boats and barges that way except for a small craft on the shore on the Illinois side. I noticed more smoke coming up from that side of the river. I was really curious about what was burning over there and who had started the fires.

I turned around and took a look at the complex again. From this side, I saw a car parked next to one of the warehouses. Because of where it was parked, I hadn’t noticed it on my way in. I decided to check that warehouse first.

The huge building had skylights. The only thing I could see were crates stacked twice as high as my head. There was a forklift parked in there, too. Thinking that was all there was to see, I was about to leave and check the other buildings, but then I noticed what looked like the end of a truck poking out from behind the crates on the far end. I walked down there.

On the other end of the building, I found a clearing. The truck I had seen was a military transport. There were two of them. The rest of the clearing looked like some sort of military camp and planning area. There were cots, maps on the wall, and lots of supplies. There was also a large chalkboard with a row of numbers written on it that could have been times. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any weapons around.

“Anyone here?!” I yelled. The building echoed back my voice.

I exited the building and went into a second building. I found it and the third warehouse to be full of what you might expect—crates, barrels, and forklifts. I went back into the first warehouse to have a better look around.

It appeared as though the military personnel had left in a hurry, but I didn’t know where they went. There was no indication of violence in the building—no spent rounds, blood, or overturned furniture. It just looked like they left without taking their stuff. It reminded me of that story from history about the Roanoke colony. In the late 1500s, a colony had settled on an island off the coast of what would become North Carolina. When a supply ship arrived at the island a couple of years later, they found the structures of the colony, but the 118 colonists had disappeared. Of course, the mystery here was likely more easily explained. It’s doubtful the Roanoke colonists went off to kill zombies.

I searched the military vehicles. I hoped I might find at least one gun inside, but I didn’t. I went back outside and stood on a loading platform between the warehouse and the railroad tracks. I just stood there looking around and listening. I didn’t know what to do next. I thought it would be foolish to cross the river and proceed to Springfield without knowing for sure that Sara had gone. If we had arrived here and found the truck and an empty boat trailer backed up to the river, I could have made a reasonable assumption that they had crossed over, but now I just didn’t know.

I was startled out of my thoughts by a blast from a horn. I ran over to the levee then climbed up. The horn honked again. Somerville was sitting in the driver’s seat of the RV with the window down.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“You’d been gone a while,” he said. “I wanted to make sure you were still alive.”

“There’s no one over there,” I said, carefully making my way down the levee to join him. When I got to the RV, I told him what I had found.

“If they went off on foot, they should be nearby,” he said. “But I can’t see them doing that. It’s too dangerous.”

“They might be with whoever was staying in the warehouse,” I said.

“Maybe a boat or a helicopter came in and got them out,” he said. “They could be anywhere by now. I still think it would be best if we went to Springfield and waited at that address.”

I shook my head, “I don’t want to go anywhere until I know something definite.”

“That map and note are the only definite things we have,” he said.

“We still have some daylight left,” I said. “I’m going to walk on the levee toward
Riverton
and see if they went that way. There is a train that way I’d like to take a look at, too.”

Somerville sighed, “We’re wasting time, but I guess I’m not in any shape to make you do anything. I’m going back to bed. You do what you want. As soon as I’m up to it, I’m crossing the river whether you go or not. I need to find Judy.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “I’ll be back before dark.”

“Be careful, because I sure can’t help you if you get into trouble.”

I climbed back up to the top of the levee, and I was surprised to see a soldier standing in the edge of the woods that bordered the grounds. He had a pack on his back. I didn’t see a rifle, but he did have a sidearm holstered on his hip.

“Hello!” I waved. I didn’t want him to mistake me for one of the infected. I climbed down and started out to meet him. When I got to the bottom of the hill, I waved again. He lifted his arm in greeting. I could hear the sounds of more people tromping thro
ugh the woods, coming my way.

I stopped when they began to emerge from the trees. There were the soldiers from the
camp,
dressed in camouflage and carrying packs. Another man came out with them in jeans and a flannel shirt. It was Ron Meyer, Ben Parks’ friend. I waved again. This time, none of them waved back. I noticed the rips and blood stains on some of their clothing. I was standing between the levee and the tracks. I glanced to the east toward the train, and I saw more people coming out of the woods there. The soldier lifted his arm again, but he wasn’t waving. He took a step toward me; they all
did. I backed toward the levee.

Then Ben Parks came out of the woods limping.
The fingers of his left hand were
tangled up in the hair of a decaying human head.
It was as if he were carrying a bowling ball. Parks’ eyes were milky. He had turned. At least he had gone down fighting and ripping off someone’s head in the process. I was glad he had restrained himself from ripping my head off. I knew he hadn’t liked me, and for that reason I hadn’t liked him. Still, I was sad to see him like this, because I knew how protective he was toward Sara and how much she cared for him.

Women were coming out of the woods, too. I searched their faces, but I couldn’t find Sara or Judy.
By the time I got back up on the levee, the first few of them had made it to the railroad tracks. I didn’t feel the need to run for the vehicle just yet. I wanted to stay there as long as I could in case Sara or Judy was there.

Ron Meyer ran at me, passing the others. When he got to the base of the levee, he tried to climb, but kept falling back. Then some of the others
rushed in with the same result.
More people came into view from the shadows. I didn’t see Sara among them. I did see a man that might have been Nathan Camp, but I couldn’t be sure; his face had been chewed up.

“Sara, where are you?” I said anxiously under my breath. If Meyer and Parks had turned, then I didn’t think I could expect good news about Sara or Judy.

Since they weren’t having any luck climbing the levee, I decided to run down toward the train where the second group had emerged. I didn’t want to find them in the group, but I had to know. Before I set out, I looked back at the RV. I didn’t see Somerville up front anymore, so I figured he had gone back to bed like he said he would.

The crowd followed me, running along the base of the hill. When I got to the train, I saw it wasn’t a complete train, but just four coal cars and an open boxcar. There was no engine connected to them. The group there made an attempt at climbing the levee, too. None of them were Sara or Judy, so I walked back. I kept my eyes on the woods the whole way, checking out the newcomers.

When I got back to the gate area, I walked out on the short section of concrete wall and sat down. I really didn’t know what to do or where to go, and I saw no reason to go anywhere at that moment. If they suddenly developed their climbing skills, I would climb down to the RV and drive us out of there.

After a couple of minutes of sitting, no more people came out of the woods. They had come originally because Somerville had honked the horn. Now the only noise was coming from the creatures themselves. There might have been a hundred of them total. They congregated below my dangling feet, reaching up, but I ignored them.

I was tired. I missed Sara. I really wanted to see her again, but not here like this…like them. I was angry with myself for not doing a better job of protecting her. I was angry with Ben Parks for the same reason. If she was still alive and well somewhere, I doubted she would go to Springfield now. The only reason she would have gone there to begin with would have been because of the safety of Parks’ group. No, if she were alive, then she would go back to Clayfield. I was sure of it. Either that, or travel south to get her a beach house on the Gulf like she had mentioned once. I knew I had to go back home. Somerville wasn’t going to like it, but I knew that was what we had to do.

Out on the river, a towboat floated by heading west. It was sideways in the water, so I knew no one was steering it. Then about thirty seconds later, a second one came by, moving with the current of the river. Then a barge loaded with coal and zombies drifted past. Then the water was full of bodies—virtually clogged with them—like a log jam. They rushed past, following the boats and barge on their way to the Mississippi River.
Riverton
’s bridge to Illinois must have come undone. It might be odd saying it, but I’m glad I got to witness such a surreal scene.