Barren Fields (30 page)

*

The infected are all dead. After the needed shower in the rain we continued to vent our mixed emotions with volleys of bullets at the runners who wanted us dead. We each laughed, yelled, and cried as we removed what we hope are the last vestiges of the terror we have faced these last nine months. Isaac and I decide to stay another night on the storage container and let the siren ring. With no place to go and no way to get there it seems too risky to walk across the piles of human remains on the blind hope that no other runners are out there.

*

The stars are out, and the earlier storm brought cooler air along with the rain. It’s pleasant to lie here and contemplate my smallness in the scheme of things again. That is something I have been missing and I’m only realizing it now. The ability to feel insignificant and not have it terrify me because of the dangers that are out there.

I hope everyone made it, but more than that, I hope the human race makes it. These last few weeks have been brutal for my group of survivors. I can only imagine how many of the few humans remaining lost their lives once the infected started to run. Even if there are only small pockets left in the world, I know the human race will rebound.

*

The morning light wakes me, and I turn to see Isaac is already awake. He is sitting and watching the sun rise.

No infected arrived at the container last night, and I can still feel the vibration of the siren so I know it is working. I eat a brief breakfast from an MRE, but the building anticipation of leaving this metal prison keeps me from finishing it.

We have two duffle bags that we can load the remaining supplies in. They won’t be easy to carry, but I’m hoping we can find some backpacks soon. Anything we leave behind will likely rot along with the mountain of flesh it is standing on, and I don’t want to lose any more weapons than the ones that are buried below us.

I motion to Isaac to follow me and mouth the words as well. I am still dead set on getting a pen and paper, and the best place for that is the farm next door. We awkwardly maneuver ourselves over the bloated bodies around us until we reach the downward slope of death in the woods between the ranch and the farm.

The farmhouse is still there, but it is ruined. All of the windows are broken, the doors are missing, and it looks like the infected decided to peel the siding off. The fields are also destroyed. We would be lucky to find one potato in all the acres that were planted. I’m glad a potato isn’t what I came here for.

I walk through the ripped open entry and only have to search for a few seconds in the kitchen before I triumphantly walk back out with the holy grail of communication raised above my head.

The two of us sit down on the front steps and begin to write our thoughts and questions to each other in a black and white composition notebook.

Eddie -
I’m glad we made it but I’m sorry about your losses.

Isaac -
I am too. On both counts. Do you think everyone else made it?

Eddie -
I hope so. I’m mostly concerned about Simone and Olivia going into the woods.

Isaac -
I thought they left with the others.

Eddie -
No. They were still here when Jeremiah confronted us. Did you know he was immune?

Isaac -
I didn’t know until he beat me up. He told me he was first bitten the night of our Christmas attack. He killed his wife and daughter and he knew he was bitten himself. I heard what you said when I walked up to him that night. You are right, he was just a murderer. I’m sorry.

Eddie -
He was your brother, that makes it more difficult to see or accept. He must have been bitten again in Grants Pass because he wasn’t reacting to pain when he attacked me.

Isaac -
He tried to kill you in Grants Pass. It was one of his men that shot you.

Eddie -
I figured as much. Can you hear anything or have any ringing?

Isaac -
No. It’s all gone.

Eddie -
Mine too. At least you still have both ears so you look somewhat normal, except for those scars on your face.

Isaac -
Is it bad?

Eddie -
It would look bad on my pretty face but it doesn’t change much for your looks.

Isaac -
Ha ha. So what do we do now?

Eddie -
Let's check the house for backpacks. I want to hike over to The Oregon Vortex today. Lots more supplies and a working truck if Simone didn’t take it.

*

The walk to the Vortex is taking longer than it should, but we don’t have any appointments so I probably shouldn’t be worried about it. We have at least eight hours before the sun goes down and will be at the supplies in forty-five minutes. There is no sign of any living infected in the woods even though their bodies are scattered everywhere. They fell in the spots where starvation finally led them to death, and I think they truly are all gone. At least in our little part of the world.

*

We have finished checking the buildings. The truck is gone, and while that makes our situation worse, I know at least someone made it here to take it. It gives me hope that Simone and Olivia are alive.

Isaac hands me the notebook.

Isaac -
We should eat. I’m going into that house. I want to sit at a table for this meal.

I nod at him and follow.

We walk into the house and Isaac looks back at me waving his finger in my face. He steps past me and closes the front door. I can imagine his words
were you born in a barn?
but in truth, there is the possibility more infected may be out there. I shouldn’t get lazy so quickly.

While we are getting our food ready a truck pulls into the driveway outside. Hannah, Mike, Gayle, and Taylor hop out.

“I told you the roads would be clear now,” Hannah says to Mike punching him on the shoulder.

“I know, I know. It just seems too good to be true.”

Taylor is happily banging on a pot with a large metal spoon. They have been driving up and down Sardine Creek Road making as much noise as possible trying to flush out any infected in the area.

“I think I remember that song,” Hannah says to Taylor at the tunes random beats he is making with his drumming.

Hannah begins an impromptu victory dance making them all smile and bringing tears to Gayle’s eyes. She wasn’t sure if Taylor would ever be the same again after what happened with his father in Grants Pass. Seeing them smile, dance, and being able to make so much noise again is a luxury she didn’t think she would live to see.

“We should probably get going, Hannah. Your mom will be getting worried,” Mike tells her.

She sticks her tongue out at him but happily bounces back to the truck smiling the whole way.

Back in the house I hand the notebook to Isaac and walk to the door.

Eddie -
It’s too hot. I have to open the door. We’ll have to keep watching it after it’s open.

I open the door as the truck pulls out of the driveway. I don’t see it and Isaac and I are unable to hear the horn blowing several times as it pulls away.

*

The day has been nice. Out of cautious habit, Isaac and I are on the roof of the house getting ready for nightfall. He hands me the notebook.

Isaac -
Head into Medford tomorrow?

Eddie -
Yes. I still think that’s our best bet. Just have to watch for more Stocktons or remaining infected.

Chapter 26

Reunions

“Mom, wake up.”

“Hannah, what? Is it time for my watch?”

“No, the siren stopped. Not even a minute ago. We need to get ready to go.”

“Hannah, the battery probably died. It’s been twelve days.”

“Fifteen. We’ve been here for fifteen days. Mom, just get up so we can start getting ready.”

“Hannah, it’s still dark out. What time is it?”

“Just after five. It’s going to start getting light soon.”

Hannah runs off to the next room to wake up some of the other people. Simone isn’t in such a rush to get up. For the last three days they have been scouting as a group farther down the road attempting to find any living infected. Hannah hasn’t wanted to leave the area, because she is certain her father is still alive and he will turn off the siren when things are all clear. The first thing Hannah will want to do is drive back to the ranch to pick up her dad, who will no longer be there. It isn’t something Simone wants to face or deal with.

“Mom, are you up yet?” Olivia asks walking into the room. “Hannah told me the siren stopped.”

“There is no stopping you girls, is there?”

*

Down the road from Eddie’s ranch, two men walk along the pavement at dusk.

“We’re close, aren’t we?” Frank asks.

“His place is supposed to be just up the road according to the map,” Keith replies.

“Do you think the siren is coming from there?”

“Yes, it seems like something he would do.”

“But that would bring all of the infected in from miles around.”

“I know. That’s probably what we smell.”

It hasn’t been an easy journey for the two men. They have lost a lot on the way here and feel like they only gained a little. What Keith expects to find is
closure
. His son survived the war but lost the final battle. No one could live through the tidal wave of bodies that the blaring siren would attract.

Once Katherine told them Eddie was alive they sailed to the coast of Oregon. Keith was avoiding making that final step of their journey, because he didn’t want to know the truth which he expected to be bad. When he was finally able to speak with Eddie he heard the defeat in Eddie’s voice and understood the hopeless position Jeremy had put them in from Simone's explanation. He is filled with sadness knowing he travelled across the globe only to say goodbye when they were still miles apart.

“We probably only have half a mile more to go up the road, but it’s getting too dark. There are too many trees for an infected to hide in. We should stop.”

“We haven’t seen one for days, Keith.”

“And I don’t want to see another one for as long as I live. That doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. We’ll stay on the roof of that house tonight and head out in the morning. I want to see if my son is alive, Frank. It is difficult being so close the ranch and not finding out, but you and I both know with the siren and the smell there is no way he can be alive. Eddie knew the infected were attracted to noise and probably thought setting up a siren would clear out the countryside to make things safe for any other survivors out there. I just hope he was able to get Simone and the kids out of harm’s way before he activated it.”

*

Back at Katherine’s retreat, she is getting an update on the situation in Medford.

Katherine sits down and wishes the words she is hearing are true but isn’t able to accept them. “Are you sure?”

“No. I thought I would lie to you so everyone can run into the city and get killed by the infected!” Greg replies sarcastically. “Of course I’m sure. The infected are gone from Medford. Four patrols drove all over the place honking their horns and nothing came out. We even had a spotter spend the day on the hospital roof, and they saw nothing but us.”

“That
is
good news. Have you told the others?”

“No, not yet. I wanted to tell you first, but a few of them were on the patrols so I’m sure everyone else already knows.”

“Well, go call them in here so we can plan what to do next.”

Arthur, Donald, Samantha, and Timothy walk into Katherine’s dining room, which has become her makeshift office since receiving so many survivors from Eddie’s ranch.

“Greg tells me the infected are gone,” she says and sports a big grin while looking at the group. “I know you have wanted to head back to the ranch to see what happened, and I will let you go tomorrow, if you want.”

Because the runners posed a greater risk to Katherine’s retreat than the walkers did, she had to lay down the law and take away everyone’s ability to travel. The trusted leaders of Eddie’s group were newcomers here, and she didn’t need any of them running to the ranch and bringing back a horde with them. They were only allowed to go outside the retreat with Katherine’s patrol’s one at a time.

“How many of us can go?” Timothy asks.

“You can all go if you want. I will be sending one of my patrols along with a siren remote just in case we are wrong about the infected being gone. You know the routes you should take if you run into trouble, and if it is an overwhelming horde, my patrols will make sure you don’t make it back here to threaten the lives of the others.”

Outside of their tents, the larger group of Eddie’s ranch refugees discuss who should go.

“I can’t go,” says Donald. “I promised Eddie and Simone that we would take care of their children. I already broke that promise when I let Hannah get out of the truck that night. I can’t do anything that will take me away from Benjamin, Amelia, and William.”

“I have to go,” Arthur states firmly. “The ranch was my home. I have to see what has happened to it.”

The group debates but mostly discusses for the next several hours what the possibilities are if the infected are really gone. After night falls, most of the people have uneasy sleep, if they are able to find rest at all, with the excitement of being free to travel again and see the world.

*

Back by the Oregon Vortex, Eddie and Isaac climb down from the roof as the morning light begins creeping into the night sky. The sun will rise in about thirty-five minutes, and they will be on the road heading south in ten.

Before getting on his bike Isaac hands Eddie the notebook.

Isaac -
You know we might not find anyone right?

Eddie -
I know. The infected were everywhere and still might be.

They nod to each other, get on their bikes, and start pedaling toward Medford.

*

At the Carpenter farm next to Eddie’s ranch.

“I’m glad the siren stopped,” Frank says. “It was giving me a headache. Did you get any sleep?”

“Not much. It’s light enough now. Let’s head up the road.”

When they arrive, the view before them is pure horror. Grotesque and disgusting fit to describe it as well, but it is mainly horror. At road level Keith and Frank don’t even have the whole picture of what is on the ranch.

“How many bodies does it take to make a wall this big?” Frank asks shaking his head at the impossibility of it all.

“I can’t imagine,” Keith replies. “We need to get over this wall to see where the siren was coming from. Maybe there is a house or building on the other side.”

“Can you climb this with your leg?”

Keith has been having severe pain in his right knee making him limp. He didn’t twist it or hurt it anywhere, so he is at a loss for what might be going wrong.

“I’ll manage. Just help me stay balanced. I’m sure these bodies will shift occasionally.”

Frank rubs two rags full of Vicks VapoRub ointment to combat the smell of the bodies and hands one to Keith to wrap around his face.

The light of morning is increasing, but the sun is still fifteen minutes from rising when the two finish climbing to the top. They each take a few steps and freeze, their minds unwilling to absorb the vision before them. Frank doubles over and vomits, while Keith drops to his knees and cries.

From tree line to tree line and as far back as they can see, the land is a level field of human bodies. The only blight on this wasteland of human suffering is a large metal storage container sitting a hundred yards away.

Keith struggles to his feet and begins limping his way toward the structure. Frank follows at a distance, unable to travel far over the bloody and bloated mess before dry heaving over the corpses again.

“Frank, come here!” Keith yells with excitement.

“Is someone there?”

“No, but someone was here.”

The bodies immediately around the storage container show signs of life. Not that they are moving but that they were killed. Most of the field they walked over were runners that had fallen over and died.

“None of the bodies out there had bullet wounds that I could see,” Keith says excitedly about the macabre details.

“They looked covered in blood to me,” Frank replies with disgust.

“They were bleeding from their mouths and ears, probably due to the normal breakdown process after death. Look at the bodies next to the container here, they are riddled with bullet holes, and there are bullet shells scattered around as well.

“Boost me up. I want to see what’s on top,” Keith says walking over to the container’s side, and Frank offers his hands with intertwined fingers as a step.

“Whoo hoo!” Keith yells

“What? What?” Frank asks frantically wanting to see as well.

“No bodies, but lots of shells,” he replies. “Someone was up here till the end, but there are no fresh bodies around this thing or inside. I see the siren as well. It was inside this shipping container.”

“What do we do now?”

“First, give me your backpack. There are some guns and ammo still up here. I want to take it all.”

“Keith, I think I hear something.”

“It’s probably just the ringing from this damn siren. My ears are still messed up. Just give me your backpack, and we can look around for any survivors once we get back to the road.”

Backpacks loaded, the pair walk back to the edge of the bodies where they first climbed up. There is a truck parked in the road and six people with guns standing in front of it staring up at them.

“I told you I heard something,” Frank says.

The rising sun is behind the men standing on the wall of bodies preventing Simone and the others from seeing who they are.

“That’s not Dad or Isaac,” Hannah says

Keith recognizes three of the faces below.

He takes off his mask, and calls out, “Simone, It’s Keith. We’re coming down, okay?”

The scene by the truck is heartfelt and powerful. Fierce hugs are had by all as well as free flowing tears as a result of the reunion.

“I’m sorry, Keith,” Simone tells him. “Eddie is dead. He stayed here at the ranch when the runners arrived and set off the siren.”

“I don’t think he’s dead,” he says in rebuttal. “There’s a storage container on top of all the bodies up there and no one is inside.”

She begins to protest at the obvious, but he waves off her attempts.

“Someone was alive and on top of that container shooting at the infected. The bodies close to it were shot, so I think he waited until there were only a few runners still alive. He killed them and then left.”

“Were there any guns still up there?” Simone asks.

“Just a few and some ammo. We have them in our bags.”

“Let me see,” she says with a glimmer of hope.

She knows if Eddie was alive he would take anything he could and also which guns he would leave behind if he could only carry so much.

Simone jumps up from the bags and grabs Hannah and Olivia in a fierce hug, and then steps back and leaves a hand on each daughters shoulder.

“Your father is alive,” she says and bursts into tears again. “It’s all 9mm.” she says through the sobbing. “The guns and the ammo. That’s what he would have left behind.”

“Eddie!” Simone yells out, stepping away from the others. “Eddie, can you hear me?” Turning back to Keith, she asks, “Did you call for him when you got here.”

Keith frowns like he knows something she doesn’t.

“What?”

“He won’t be able to hear you, Simone. Frank and I stayed at the farm down the road last night, and my ears are still ringing. If Eddie was next to that siren for the last two weeks, he may never hear again.”

“How do we find him if we can’t call?” Olivia asks.

“Which way did you come?” Simone asks Keith.

“We came up the road from Rogue River.”

“And you stayed at the next farm over?”

“Yes. But there was no sign of them there. We searched through the house before we climbed up to the roof.”

“So he left yesterday or earlier. He would head to The Vortex, that’s the only place nearby with supplies. You were there yesterday, Hannah, did you see anything?”

“No, but we didn’t go in any of the buildings. We were making a lot of noise, but if he can’t hear he might have been there.”