Barren Fields (24 page)

“That’s the direction I sent Jeremiah to get a truck,” Tim says.

The shooting stops, and we all start jogging east to meet up with Timothy and the rest of the group.

*

“Hi Timothy, Dianne.” I nod at them. “Erde, I’m surprised to see you here,” I say with a stern look at Timothy.

“He needed to see how the infected behave in person.”

“I’m also hoping we can capture one or two for blood tests,” Erde says in his own defense.

“You know what happens to us all if you die, Erde. Don’t kill the human race twice in your lifetime.”

It is a horrible thing to say, but it’s the truth. So far no one else we know is alive that has any grasp of working with or identifying toxoplasmosis in order to culture an immunity drug for the remaining uninfected. He created this illness and released it on the world, and right now, only he has the ability to protect us from it.

A truck is speeding up the road at us so we all step off to the side. Jeremiah is driving and starts to slow down, but when he is right next to the group, he slams on the brakes and slides another twenty yards past us. He struggles to get out of the cab, and I see a body in the back.

“Phillip’s been shot. He needs help!” he yells while grabbing the man in the back of the truck and trying to pull him out. “They’re coming. We have to get out of here!”

“Mom, Dad, you need to run!” Hannah yells over the radio. “Look east! Look east!”

The group as a collective turns around and looks down F Street from where Jeremiah just arrived. A swarm of infected are running right at us from half a mile away.

“It takes two minutes to run half a mile. Samantha, get Erde on the Safeway roof now. GO!” I yell. “Everyone else follow Jordan to the building we were going to clear. There may be infected inside but that is your best bet to survive. There aren’t many entry points and we can kill a lot of them as they try to squeeze in to get us. Run now!”

“It looks like hundreds of them,” Erde says from behind me.

I turn and grab his arm trying to get him to leave.

He pulls his arm away, and tells me sternly, “If you want me to save the rest of us, I need to see them.” And he puts binoculars back up to his eyes.

I kneel down and get my FAL aimed at the oncoming crowd. Several other shooters line up next to me, standing or kneeling, depending on their preference.

A minute and a half.

“This is interesting.”

“Erde go!” I yell and start shooting at the rampaging death ahead of us.

The bodies start falling in the distance, but the swarm doesn’t stop. I have to change my magazine and look quickly to make sure Erde is gone.

One minute.

I stand to resume shooting and slowly start walking backward. One step, two shots. One step, two shots. The bodies keep falling. The runners keep running.

Thirty Seconds, time to run.

I turn to run and only Simone is still with me. My FAL is empty so get ready to toss it in the back of the truck as I run by. I don’t have any more 7.62 ammo on me right now so I won’t be needing it. I didn’t calculate the time right. We have our guns and packs on and won’t be able to outrun this group. If we drop our packs we lose all of our ammo.

“We have to drop everything and run or we won’t make it,” I yell.

She waves at me and climbs into the driver’s seat of the truck, which is still running. I jump in, and she takes off just as the leading edge of the runners are about to hit the tailgate.

“Tunnel vision,” I yell to explain myself.

“That’s why you have me,” she says as she speeds toward the building everyone else is trying to climb into. “Once we’re in the yard, I’m going to jump out and run to Hannah. You take the truck and block that hole in the wall.”

I don’t have a chance to respond before she takes the corner, hops the curb, and knocks down one the few remaining portions of fence still enclosing the semi-trailer parking area. She mostly stops the truck but leaves it in gear, and does exactly what she said she would. She jumps out and makes a beeline to the Safeway building. There aren’t any runners here yet, and she has Hannah on the roof to cover her progress so I know she will make it. I do an awkward jump-slide across the bench seat and twist the wheel to get the truck turned around.

The last few people jump into the hole in the side of the building, and I drive the truck up against it to help block the hole. I open the driver’s door and lean to get out but remember in time to lock the passenger door. Unlocked car doors don’t stop the runners.

I hear shooting farther inside the building so there are still infected inside the place. I take four gulping deep breaths of air to calm my nerves and clear my head before I turn back to the entrance with my KSG raised.

Bullets are flying through the opening as the runners pile up outside and start climbing over each other to get in. It is a sickening feeling to watch them continue to advance on us when there are at least twenty guns pouring lead at the bodies coming through the hole.

My shotgun is out, so I switch to my pistol. The shotgun is more devastating, but I don’t have the time to reload. A runner makes it in and jumps from the truck onto one of our shooters, someone I don’t know. The infected are starting to pile up in the hole, but it is too large to get plugged up and the bodies of the dead keep shifting and rolling over each other onto the floor. Another one makes it in and bites into a second shooter. He looks familiar but I can’t remember his name. We have to start backing up as more runners are making it into the building.

They aren’t making much progress once inside, but it takes our aim away from the opening helping the infected increase their foothold in the building. I switch to the next magazine and keep shooting. Jeremy is a few feet off to my right, trying to pick up a magazine for his gun that he dropped. I shoot a runner that is headed for him and turn to shoot another just before it makes it to me.

There are too many of them, but I keep shooting. We all keep shooting. What else can we do? I watch Jason Anderson get killed, a runner bites into his neck before any of us can adjust our aim to save him. Jason’s eight year old son Christopher died in our attack over the winter. I hope for a second that his wife Rebecca isn’t here but that second passes, and I see her run to his fallen body.

The slide on my gun locks back again, so I load my last magazine. I put the gun in my left hand and I draw my machete with my right. My left hand isn’t as steady as my right but accurate aiming isn’t required at a distance of two or three feet. I step forward into the infected onslaught, shooting and slashing until I am between Rebecca and the oncoming horde. There are still too many making it in. I shoot, they fall, more advance. One grabs me and is shot by someone else. Another grabs me and I shoot it away. Shoot, slash, shoot, shoot, slash.

My gun is empty. I drop it and continue swinging wildly with my blade at anything that tries to get to Jason’s body or Rebecca. Four more shooters appear to my right moving forward and are able to start pushing the runners back. They are finally killing the runners faster than they can come in. I turn to grab Rebecca wanting to get her farther into the building, get her to safety, but it’s too late. She is lying on the floor next to Jason with her gun still resting in her mouth.

I turn back to the fight with my machete raised and see that we are winning for now. The infected have been pushed all the way back to the truck again. Then everything goes black, and I feel like I am falling.

Chapter 20

Recovery, Disintegration

Oregon.

Present Day.

It must be late. It so dark I can’t see a thing.
Reaching up to my face I feel bandages covering my face. I try and lift my head to sit up but feel the room start to swirl and it falls back down.

*

I can hear a mumbled conversation somewhere nearby.

“Who’s there? I hear you. Why can’t I see, what’s going on?”

“Your vision is fine, Eddie. I’ll get Simone so she can tell you what’s going on. Stop trying to sit up.”

“Don’t push me back down, tell me who you….”

I feel the room spinning.

*

“I’m sorry, he hasn’t woken up……I think we just need……Maybe tom...”

*

“Is someone there?”

“Eddie, it’s Simone, I’m here. Don’t try to move or get up. You’ll just pass out again if you do.”

“Is that what’s been happening? Why can’t I see?”

“There are bandages covering your eyes,” she says, and I feel her grab my hands. “Eddie, you were shot. Don’t tense up, just relax. You were shot in the head, but it mostly grazed you.”

“What is mostly?”

“The bullet chipped the back of your skull on your left side, took off most of your ear and scraped along your cheek. You were shot from behind. Do you remember anything that happened?”

I think about the question for a while and remember where I was before things first went black. The scenes all flood back and the fear of battle makes me try to jump up and continue fighting.

Everything spins.

*

“Are you sure you don’t want to get some rest? It could be a while before he comes back around.”

“I’m awake,” I say to whoever is there.

“Eddie, it’s
Michael Palmer
.”

“I’m here too, sweetie,” Simone says.

“Eddie, I’m going to change your dressing. If you can stay still and remain calm, we can make sure your vision is okay as well.”

“I thought you said I could see?

“You didn’t take any direct impact to your eyes,” Michael continues talking while un-wrapping my head. “But any time there is major trauma to the head certain processes can get damaged or affected in minor ways. You’ll know when we take off the bandages if there is any change to your vision.”

I grunt my understanding, and then ask the next thing I need to know, “How many were lost, Simone?”

“Maybe now isn’t the best time.”

“How many?”

A few seconds pass before she quietly says, “Sixteen.”

I purse my lips, take a deep breath, then rub my eyes and open them to a dimly lit room. One lantern is on in the corner and is burning on a low setting.

“Erde?”

“He’s alive, and so is Hannah.”

“How is Rachel doing?”

Rachel Anderson is the sixteen-year-old newly orphaned daughter of Jason and Rebecca, the two people that died next to me before I was shot.

“I wasn’t sure if you knew what happened to her parents.”

“I was six feet away from Jason when he got bitten, and I saw her run to him. I moved out to stop the infected from getting to her as well, but she killed herself while I had my back to her. That was right before I blacked out.”

“Rachel isn’t doing very well, a little better today, but yesterday was extremely bad for her. It was pretty bad for all of us.”

“Have I been here for two days?”

“Just for a day and a half,” Michael responds. “Do you remember everything that happened around that time?”

“I can still see it all pretty clearly. We were finally starting to push the infected back to the opening, or at least other people were. I was out of ammo. I turned to get Rebecca away from the front but saw that she was already dead. Then I turned back around to see the infected being killed at the truck before I went black…Where was Jeremiah?”

“He didn’t shoot you, Eddie,” Michael offers. “He was shot before he drove up to your group in Grants Pass. Timothy stayed by him in the warehouse during the fight to make sure he wouldn’t try anything.”

“Then one of his men did it.”

“The two men that he took with him, Phillip and Greg, were killed when they were first attacked by the infected. Greg was attacked by an infected and shot wildly hitting both Phillip and Jeremiah. Phillip was dead in the back of the truck when he pulled up to your group, according to several people there, including Timothy.”

“Someone shot me intentionally!”

“Someone did shoot you, but from what I heard it was crazy in that building and not everyone is a good shot. We have three other people that were shot. One of them shot himself by mistake.”

“We were winning, Michael. The infected were fifteen feet in front of me and our people were between me and the infected. There was nothing left in the warehouse to shoot at where I was standing.”

“I don’t know what to tell you or what you should do about it. Get better and then you can start talking to people yourself to find out what happened.”

I nod slightly in agreement, knowing there isn’t much I can do right now.

“I have to see some other people, I’m sure your lovely nurse will be able to take care of anything you need.”

Simone smiles, and waves. “Bye, Michael. Thanks.”

He walks out the door, and Simone sits on the bed next to me.

“How are the kids?” I ask.

“They’re fine, when they aren’t being terrible. They’re calling you
Zombie Dad
now,” she says while holding her hands up and making claws. “Because you can’t die. I think Olivia came up with the name. I was crying, of course, and she said
Don’t worry mom, dad is better than a zombie cause he can get shot in the head and live. He’s super zombie dad.
”

“I would prefer
Super Dad
over
Zombie Dad
but I guess it’ll do. Tell me though,” I say grabbing her hand, “who did we lose?”

“I need to get Erde and Hannah in here first. They both have information that you need to hear that is connected to who we lost. I think they’re both in the house. Just give me a minute.”

“Could you bring Arthur in, as well. I need to know what he knows.”

She gives me a strange smile and nods before heading out.

*

I’m sitting up against the bed’s headboard as they walk back in. I need to see people’s faces when I speak with them to gauge how serious things really are. While I feel a bit nauseous, the throbbing sound on the side of my head goes away.

Simone walks in, followed by Arthur, Erde, Hannah, and Mike. I don’t want Mike here, but I’m glad he is here just the same. He has been living on the farm with Isaac’s people, and I can get an idea of how things are going there by his reactions and answers when I speak to him.

Hannah leans over and gives me a hug, and then sits in one of the chairs. Mike stands next to her, and Erde stands at the foot of the bed.

“Eddie wants me to tell him who we lost. So I think your information on
why
is important to give him now as well.” Simone sits down by me again and begins the new list of losses. “You already know we lost Rebecca and Jason. We also lost Joshua Langford, Randy’s son, and Jessica Palmer, Daniel’s wife”

“Jessica was out there?”

“She went to rescue her sister, Ashley,” she says with sadness. “We also lost Brian and Melissa Carpenter, and Randy, Arthur’s brother.”

I look at Arthur and understand why he has been leaning in the corner with his head down. The people we lost were close to us all, but Arthur lost his brother and nephew.

“I’m sorry, Arthur. I can’t believe anyone let Randy go to Grants Pass. I don’t even remember seeing him there.”

“He didn’t go with the group. He had a heart attack yesterday,” Arthur explains. “The losses of the winter attack destroyed him. He couldn’t take the stress of losing his son as well.”

“How is Patricia doing?”

“She is taking it better than I am,” he says. “They both knew his health wasn’t the greatest anymore, and I think she was preparing herself for him to be gone these last few months.”

We exchange nods and commiserating looks the way men do in silence and give one last nod as a signal to move on.

“What about Brian and Melissa? Where were they?”

“They were in the building with you. I was told they were killed at the other end while they were clearing the infected from the back, they were attacked from the side by some infected that were in a small office. They were bitten and weren’t immune,” Erde explains.

I count them off on my fingers, seven so far.

“And the rest?”

“The rest weren’t from the ranch. Phillip and Dale Gregory, they were brothers from Isaac’s group. Greg and Anthony Whitlock, they were a father and son from Isaac’s group. Luke Simpson, the man from Isaac’s group whom we met on the drive back to the ranch the day they arrived. Peter Gregory, a cousin of Phillip and Dale. Stephanie Clayborn and Joanna Sutton, who both came in with the Stick People. And of course, Gordon Bradley, Gayle’s husband.

“Who the hell let any of the Stick People go into Grants Pass? They aren’t ready for that.”

“None of us were ready for what happened in Grants Pass, but they weren’t there. They died here at the ranch due to complications…they starved to death. They were weak when we rescued them and they were too sick to hold any food down. We had simple saline bags set up, but it wasn’t enough. We couldn’t save them. There are another four, possibly five from that group that won’t make it another two days for the same reason. Another three possibly from infections, but we have them on heavy doses of antibiotics so they have a chance. A small chance.”

Mentioning Gayle’s husband, Gordon, reminds me of the catatonic boy that was stuck alone on a roof for a night. “Is Tyler okay?”

“He is doing better. He’s eating and looking around now. His mother is taking care of him. He shouldn’t have gone with the scavenging group into Grants Pass. He wasn’t ready, but his father insisted that he go. Then he had to watch what happened.” She turns her attention to our daughter. “Hannah, you should tell your father this part.”

“They ripped him apart,” Hannah says bluntly and shakes her head in anger. “We were still setting things up when the runners broke out of that warehouse. Tyler had his ladder up for the escape route onto the building he ended up stuck on. Mike and I didn’t have time to set up our sniper position, though. We were still carrying our ladder and supplies to Safeway when it happened. The hole in the side of the building was blocked when we walked by it, but the runners were obviously able to pull whatever was blocking it away and stream out at us.

“I heard something crash and turned to look. Runners were pouring out of the building right at Mr. Bradley. I watched Ashley and Aaron disappear around the side of the building, and Mr. Bradley ran toward Tyler who was already climbing the ladder. Mike and I had to run the rest of the way and put the ladder up quickly. Thankfully I made him go up first. He grabbed me and pulled me up when the infected hit the ladder—knocking it down. I dropped the bag with most of our ammo, and our radio and would have fallen down as well if he wasn’t there.” She puts her hand on his shoulder, and says,
thank you,
to him. “Once Mike pulled me up we looked back to Tyler. He was lying on the roof, and the infected below were tearing at what was left of Mr. Bradley. That’s when we found out where the runners are coming from.”

I look at Erde, expecting him to take over, but he points me back to Hannah.

“The runners are infecting the walkers!”

She smiles knowing this is a good piece of information and continues.

“All the noise the runners were making attracted few walkers. When the runners saw them, they ran to attack. The walkers even tried to turn to get away but they were bitten anyway. They didn’t get torn to pieces, like Mr. Walker, each one was bitten a few times and then they were left alone.”

“I’m not following you,” I say.

“And I’m not finished,” she retorts giving me a stare. “So I start shooting them. I keep shooting expecting that they will take off like they always have when they start losing too many in a group, but they hang around and give me more target practice. I keep shooting, but I leave the walkers alone. I like seeing them moving around slowly like they used to. Then, about six hours after the walkers were bitten, they start to run.”

She ends her speech in a
ta-da
kind of gesture, like she just pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

“So the runners are infecting the walkers? But we tested a walker biting Stockton’s men and it made them run. I thought they already had the running variant in them.”

“The walker we used for testing had been bitten by a runner recently,” Erde explains. “I noted some fresh bite marks on that walker, but it seemed irrelevant at the time. Now we know where all of the runners are coming from. Any remaining walker will be attacked by the runners to increase their numbers. And with each walker they infect, their swarm grows. But that is not even the interesting part. I think I know the answers to
why
.
Why
there are runners,
why
they are attacking walkers, and
why
they are swarming.”