Respect for the Dead (Surviving the Dead Book 1) (38 page)

              “Where should we go?”  Wes asked.  Steve and Kate held a map down against the breeze.  Steve looked left then right down the highway.  He returned his gaze to the map.  Kate leaned against the fender staring off at the three crosses in a field.  “There is a church up ahead.”  Wes noted with a laugh that lacked any real mirth, “I think we’ll pass on that.” 

              “We should avoid any towns all together.”  Steve commented looking back down at the map.

              “So what we just drive around avoiding towns and what?  Hope we run across more dead cops that just happen to have cars full of supplies?  We need a place to hide until this all dies down.”  Kate said in frustration. 

              “Dies down…ha.”  Wes shot back. 

              Kate glared at him, “Oh shut up.” She said rolling her eyes. 

              “Ok how about this?  There is a small, and I mean small town about ten miles from here.  Why don’t we check it out.  We might find a place to rest for the night.”  Steve pointed to a spot on the map.  His finger was right below a dot with the name “Wellsboro”.  Kate and Wes looked at each other then shrugged.  Steve took this as an affirmation.  He opened the driver’s door.  Kate headed around to the passenger side. 

              Climbing into the back of the car she reached over the seat patting Steve on the shoulder.  “Any sign of trouble we just turn around and head out.  I don’t want to get stuck in some building again either.”  Steve put his hand over hers.  Wes slammed the door looked over at Steve and Kate holding hands and started making a gagging noise.  “Watch it Wesley or I will kiss him right in front of you.” 

              Wes threw his hands up in surrender, “no please, no one wants to see that.”  Steve turned the key then turned to Wes.  Wes opened him mouth to say something but found himself in a headlock.  “Alright alright leggo!”  Wes cried pushing Steve’s arm off.   

                 Twenty minutes later found Steve slowing the powerful engine to a crawl on Main Street of Wellsboro.  The street contained maybe fifteen or twenty buildings and houses.  Boxes, paper, clothes and debris were strewn across the street.  Several windows were broken with signs of attacks.  One window was covered in blood that ran down the wall and pooled into a dried stain on the sidewalk. 

              “We are not staying here.”  Steve whispered.  No one protested.  It took only a minute to creep through the empty town but the silence would stay with them for a long while after. 

              “Where did they all go.”  Wes asked without expecting a response.  He grabbed the side of the door when Steve pulled off the road toward a baseball field.  A chain link fence surrounded the field.  The fence rose ten feet into the air behind home plate.  Steve stopped in front of a gate that lead into the diamond.  Without a word Wes jumped out of the car opening the gate.  The car barley squeezed through.  Wes closed the fence and jumped back into the car.   Steve pulled right up to home plate, pointing the front toward first base and the gate.  Wes rolled up his window when Steve turned off the engine. 

              “Not what I had in mind.”  Kate mumbled while curling up in the backseat.  Steve checked the gun in his hand, nodded to Wes who eased his seat back and rolled onto his side as best he could. 

              “Wake me up in a couple of hours?”  Wes asked.  Steve nodded then watched the light fade.

              Beth walked in to find the rest of the group standing in front of a tall unshaven man who was smiling at them.  “Welcome, welcome, my name is Ryan.  I’m so glad you found your way.”

              “You’ve been expecting us?”  Beth asked disbelieving.

              The smile faltered a little on Ryan’s face but he hitched back quickly, “Well not you specifically, I have been waiting for all the survivors.”  Something in the way he made this statement caused Beth to shiver.

              “So where are the others?”  Beth asked in a tone she hoped was more pleasant than she felt toward the man. 

              Still smiling widely Ryan answered, “Oh they’re here you’ll get to meet them soon.  First I am sure you are hungry and tired.  It has been a very trying time hasn’t it?”

              “I guess this place is pretty safe?  Looks like a lot of cars and a few truck fulls of people made it here.”  Gillian stated looking over her shoulder at the full lot.  She caught Beth’s eye and silently told her she wasn’t comfortable with this either.  Beth looked over at Hector whose thumb was running along the safety of his rifle. 

Trevor seemed to be beside himself with relief at finding another living human.   “This looks like a distribution center of some kind.  We stopped at one on the way out of town, but didn’t have time to pick up any supplies.  We just had enough time to get a forklift and get out of town.”  

“We have plenty of supplies back in the warehouse. You had a forklift?”  Ryan was trying to look past Devin into the lot now. 

“Oh we couldn’t keep it, too slow.”  From here Trevor began to explain how they had all got together and their adventure up to that moment. 

Ryan listened to the tale intently.  When Trevor had finished he asked, “So when you got back to the apartment Bill was dead and attacked, Stancy was it, and she defended herself?”

Beth responded, “When we got back Bill was dead on the floor.  Stancy said he died but more likely she panicked when he got up to go to the bathroom and moaned.  She was not what you would have called stable.”  Ryan considered her for a moment until Hector interrupted his thoughts 

“That is our story.  What is yours?”

Ryan seemed startled by the question.  “How did I get here?  It seemed like I’ve always been here.”  He mused rubbing the thick stubble on his chin.  “Well, I had been at home trying to avoiding getting sick like everyone else.  Then I just sat for a while watching everything fall apart.  When the dead started walking I barricaded myself in the house, like everyone else it seemed.   And like everyone else I didn’t know enough to be dark and quiet when they came around.”  Ryan shuddered at the memory.

“I had a couple of guns I used to go target shooting with.  Well when the dead figured out I was there they wouldn’t leave no matter how quiet I was.  They started breaking in, so I shot a few of them then ran to the garage got in the car and drove as far and as fast as I could.”   Ryan seemed lost in the memory. 

“How long were you able to stay in the house?”  Devin asked surprised.   

“Only a couple of days, it seemed like the whole area was completely overrun.  Well I stayed in the car for a while but, that works as long as it runs and has gas.”  Ryan smiled.  Trevor laughed, turning to the others. 

“So I just drove around for several hours.  It was strange that in this area there was very few of the zombies.”  Ryan paused, thinking back on that day.  “I was getting pretty tired and I wrecked the car.  Fortunately I was only unconscious for a little while.”

“Were you attacked in the car?”  Trevor asked in a hushed tone.

“No, when I woke up there was only one on the passenger side so I ran from the wreck and ended up on the roof of a building.  After a day or so I was joined by a couple other survivors.  We sat up there shooting the dead with some rifles they brought.  It was like a game for them.”  Ryan grimaced, remembering how they would make bets on who could make certain shots.  “I don’t know if we thought we would run out of dead before we ran out of bullets.  Well turns out we wouldn’t.   One of the guys knew about this place.” Ryan motioned around at the room.

“We were a couple of miles away so we decided to go for it.  It was getting damn cold on that roof.  There were five of us that left.  After the first day we were down to three.”  Ryan watched the others as he spoke.  He had Gillian’s attention, and to his surprise Matt’s.  Relishing the attention he continued.  “We were in luck on the second day and picked up some food and guns.  After we lost another one of our party we found this camping stuff.  It was just lying in the middle of an alley.  It was right after we picked it all up we got attacked.  These three guys showed up and they were acting all scared and friendly.   Then all of a sudden we were shooting at each other.”

“Do you think it was a trap?”  Trevor asked. 

“What?  You mean people left the stuff so they could attack people?”  Matt asked, “Why?” 

“To get your guns and supplies.”  Beth explained. 

“Damn, that’s messed up.”  Matt replied.

“Well it almost worked.”  Ryan said.  “They killed Tim, the other guy I was with, then they ran off with some of his gear and the tent.  So now it was just two of us.  Me and this woman, I forget her name. Well we made it about three blocks from the alley when the guys who attacked us showed up again.  I just figured they were back for the rest our stuff.  So…”  Ryan paused, he seemed to be picking his words carefully. 

He looked at Gillian and Matt, “Well you can understand, I shot one of the guys.  Just shot him right in the face.  His buddy started screaming that they were sorry they made a mistake.  He started going on about how we needed to stick together.  I thought I made a mistake so lowered my gun.  Well he didn’t mean it. As soon as my gun wasn’t aimed at him he shot and killed the woman I was with, so I shot him.”  Gillian nodded in understanding. 

Ryan nodded back to her, “Well the sound of the guns had alerted some of the dead.  I looked up and saw I was in trouble.  They were coming down the alley so I grabbed as much as I could and started running .  Then I just headed here.”  Ryan noticed he had everyone’s attention now.  “I went out a few times and found some more weapons and some other survivors, they’re in the back  we have food and water so we just hide.  We haven’t seen anyone in a couple of days.”  Ryan had left a lot of detail out in his tale to the new arrivals.   They didn’t need to know what he had seen and done and he didn’t feel the need to share everything. 

  Devin spoke up.  “We have plenty of food, water and weapons.  We just need a place to rest up and not be bounced around for a while.  Can we stay here, for a little while?”

Ryan smiled and opened his arms wide, “You are very welcome here.  Let’s go and meet the others.” 

              Steve’s head snapped up, he rubbed his eyes and shook the sleep from his skull.  Wes was curled up in the seat next to him.  He turned and smirked, Kate was almost short enough to stretch out completely.  Returning his attention to the front he rubbed his eyes again and adjusted in the seat.  Sitting up straight he cracked his neck and tried to focus.  “Man it is really black out at night now.”  He muttered under his breath.  Clouds passed over the thin light of the moon, Steve held his hand in front of his face to see if the old adage held up.  It did. 

              Sitting in the car in the dark he attempted to keep his mind occupied.  Kate mumbled and rolled over in the back causing the car to bounce a little and the suspension to creak.  Wes jumped wild eyed and tense.  “Relax, it was just Kate moving around.”  Steve whispered.  A breeze blew through the window he had opened a crack to try to keep himself awake, that and the fact that they had not bathed in several days.  With the breeze came not fresh air but the sickly smell of the undead. 

              The sky was already slipping from inky black to a deep purple.  Dawn was approaching slowly.  “You smell that?”  Wes’ voice whispered anxiously from beside Steve.  The horizon continued to lighten.  The dark shadow of the tree line became more defined and pronounced.  Dark shapes were milling around the outfield fence.  “Oh man.”  Wes breathed.

              “It’s ok, there aren’t too many and they are all the way out there.”  Even as he spoke Steve was surveying the close by fence, especially the break through which they had driven. 

              “Dude look again, I think the whole town is out there.”  Wes pointed, Kate stirred in the back.  Sitting up she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, looked out at what the boys were looking at and swore. 

The sky was now a beautiful light blue, a golden sun light was streaming through the trees silhouetting full pines and leafless oaks.  High fluffy white clouds were sliding across the sky clearing out as the sun rose in earnest.  All of this was lost on the three passengers of the car parked on home plate of the overgrown infield.  They watched as more and more of the previous residence of the nearby town came out as if game was being played at that very moment.  Even from the distance they could see the outfield fence straining as the bodies pressed against it.  Finally the right side gave way, zombies spilled onto the field.  They stumbled and fell over each other plodding toward the car containing the voice of reason that questioned the two transfixed men in the front seat.  “Why the hell are we still sitting here?!”

The engine roared into life and the tires spit dirt and grass as the first ghoul’s feet hit second base.  “I think the home team just won.”  Wes spoke shakily when the diamond had disappeared from view. 

              Ryan turned toward a sign that read “employees only” and pushed his way through.  Just past the door was another set of swinging doors and several offices.  The others followed.  Beth looked around the area for any sign of other people.  She found it odd that no one was out in this area.  No one other than Ryan came to meet them.  Ryan was almost at the double doors when he stopped and turned to face them. 

“There is something here that might interest you.”  Ryan touched Hector on the shoulder pointing to an office, then he gestured toward the doors, “You can go ahead, just through those doors,” He smiled.  Hector looked into the office and noticed a grenade launcher and several high powered assault rifles just inside the door.  He smiled and disappeared into the office. 

The others pushed through into a large open area.  Beth gazed around.  There were several areas set up as sleeping spots.  Personal belongings littered around the sleeping bags or piled blankets and clothes.  Here and there were toys and a baby’s car seat.  What was lacking was people.  Further in were piles of boxes.  “Hello?”  Beth called.  They heard something at the far end amongst the boxes. Beth looked over her shoulder as she followed the others, “Where is Hector?”  She asked.  Gillian turned to look back as well and shrugged.      

Devin, Trevor and Matt were already looking through the stacks of boxes that littered the loading dock when Beth and Gillian joined them.  Beth kept checking over her shoulder for Hector.  There were plenty of boxes but still no sign of any people.  Trevor kept saying how wonderful the places was, “look at all this stuff, what is it food?  Clothes?  What do we have?  This place is great isn’t?”  He kept smiling nervously to everyone. 

“Come on, there is nothing here.” Gillian said angrily as she read the contents of the closest box.  Devin looked over the labels as well then up at the others.  Matt wandered over to the loading dock door. 

Standing on tiptoe to see through the small oval window, “Oh shit!”  He jumped away from the glass.  “The whole parking lot is full of them.”  He cried pointing at the closed door. 

Ryan appeared behind them.  He walked over to the window and peered through it.  He watched the zombies stumbling around for a moment.  He turned to the others with an amused look on his face.  He calmly walked over to the chain that opened the door and began pulling it.

“What the hell are you doing?”  Matt screamed as he ran to stop him.

Ryan threw Matt off and continued to open the door.  “I want you to meet everyone.  They are just dying…well they died to meet you.”  Trevor panicked and threw himself at Ryan to stop him and it worked for a moment.  That moment was over when Ryan pulled a gun and fired three rounds into a stunned Trevor’s chest. 

“NOOOOOO!!!”  Matt cried and ran at Ryan again.  Gillian ran to Trevor.  Beth and Devin reached for their weapons but Ryan grabbed Matt and pointed the gun to his temple. 

“I don’t think we will have any of that.”  Ryan smiled and motioned for them to put down their weapons. 

Beth’ heart raced as she surveyed the scene.  Trevor lay on the floor blood flowing freely from his wounds.  He held a look of terror as he tried to stem the flow.  Gillian was trying to hold a cloth against his chest.   Devin stood still, his hands out to his sides.  Ryan had a hold of Matt, who struggled to free himself.  Ryan was able to hold the gun under Matt’s chin and still open the door with his free hand.  Little by little the loading dock door opened on about thirty of the living dead who struggled and clawed to get at the living. 

Devin lowered his gun and held out a hand, “Just relax, it’s cool we don’t want anything we’ll just go.” 

“Where is Hector?”  Beth demanded.

Ryan smiled, “oh your big friend is admiring my gun collection, well he would if he was conscious.  Couldn’t have him overpowering me and no, I don’t wish for you to go.” 

“Well you don’t want us to stay.  You obviously didn’t want them to.  What do you want from us?”  Gillian asked, never taking her eyes off Matt.   

“It is time to embrace what is your great gift.  It is time to let go and enter my kingdom.”  Ryan spoke as  if from a pulpit.  “Look out upon the beauty of the new world.”  He continued.

“All I see is a living hell.”  Beth spoke shaking with anger and fear, “And right now I am looking at the devil.”  Devin shushed her. 

Ryan smiled, “This may be hell to you, but it is true heaven for them.  Their cares and worries are gone.”  He surveyed the horde clawing inches from his feet.  “Look, look there!”  He said pointing to the middle of the teaming mass of reaching arms.  “See how they are all now equal.  A rich business man side by side with a poor man, racist next to black.  They are all equal.  Color, status, it means nothing, this is truly paradise. As god willed it to be.”

“Paradise?”  Beth spat, “They are mindless zombies bent on killing! How is this gods will”

“Free will was always the devils play land.  This…” Ryan stretched his arms wide throwing Matt to the end of the dock. “This is a return to purity.  God has shown the sinners the way.”

“You’re insane!”  Gillian screamed from Trevor’s side, he was growing paler by the second.  His life flowing away across the floor from the bullet wounds in his chest. 

Ryan turned to stare at Gillian.  His eyes were as lifeless and cold as any zombie’s.  “Soon he will be cleansed of all sin and join his brothers and sisters.  He will wake to judge you.”  Ryan whispered.

Devin moved to tackle Ryan but froze in his tracks, hands raised as the gun barrel pointed in his direction.  “I don’t want to be the one to take you.  It is their job now.  You will become one with them.” 

Dazed form being thrown, Matt tried to regain his footing.  He lost balance and was again in Ryan’s grip.  He twisted Matt’s arm behind him forcing the young man close to the edge.  Fingers grabbed at the tips of his sneakers.  Gillian screamed but Ryan pushed Matt further out over the horde.  They grabbed as his feet and legs, as he screamed in terror. 

“Come on now, let him go.”  Devin soothed.  Devin realized too late that Ryan was going to comply, just not in the way he wanted.   “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Beth watched as if in slow motion as Ryan pushed Matt in to the mass of ghouls.  For a moment it was as if he was at a concert being borne away on the hands of the crowd.  Then they began to tear at his flesh.  She couldn’t stop watching as they tore away his limbs, ripped his head from the torso and flung bloody pieces into the air.  His cries mingled with that of Gillian and Devin and the joyful shouts of Ryan. 

Hatred and rage boiled over Beth’s mind.  She took a step toward Ryan who instantly aimed one gun at her and pulled another to aim back at Devin and Gillian who had advanced toward him but stopped as the weapons trained in on them. 

“Matt was torn to pieces!  He can’t join them, how do you explain that?”  Beth screamed anger swelling within her.

“His sins were too great.  He could not be…re-born.” Ryan turned his dead gaze to her. 

“To hell with this.”  She heard Devin whisper, then he was a blur as Gillian ran one direction, he another.  Beth took the clue and ran at him as well.  Devin reached him first and slammed into his ribs.  Ryan was flung sideways into the other door, His hand slammed into the metal track.  A flash from the muzzle and a loud pop was barely noticed amongst the angry shouts and cries of pain.  Beth fell back as something burned white hot into her left arm.  The undead jumped and moaned and howled.  From the corner of her eye Beth saw Trevor stumbled to his feet. 

“Get them my child!  Get them!”  Ryan screamed. 

Devin realized Ryan was pointing behind him and ducked and rolled quickly out of Trevor’s grasp.  Beth raised her right arm to aim her gun and found that she couldn’t raise her left as she was half blinded with pain.  Trevor moaned and advanced toward her.  Beth, nauseous with pain lifted her gun and fired, the bullet flew wide showering Gillian with shards of splintered concrete.  Ryan Laughed and called for Trevor to destroy the sinners.  Beth, clutching her arm, ran behind some boxes.  There was an angry banging on the door leading back out to the armored car.  She prayed it was Hector.  Blood dripped off her fingers the familiar black tunnels were forming on the edges of her vision.  She knew she was seconds from passing out. 

“Forget the bitch!”  Ryan yelled.  Beth could hear Devin cry out and boxes tumble to the ground.  “Help me my child, help your master, help your king!” 

Gillian cried out a warning.  Beth crouched down and fought through the dizziness.  She snuck a peek around the edge of the pallet she was hidden behind.  Gillian was backed against another tower of boxes.  Devin was scrambling out of the way, and Ryan was getting to his feet.  In the middle was Trevor his face pasty white, his eyes lifeless and staring, he staggered with arms outstretched.  Angry frustrated growls escaped his grey lips as the movements of his prey and the incessant pounding from the door caused him to spin slowly in circles trying to get at the closest of the living.        

“Yes take them, free them.”  Ryan called standing up and firing at Devin who had taken shelter behind several crates trying to avoid Trevor.  He next fired at the door that Hector was trying to break through.  This did nothing to deter the pounding.  “Get them!”  Ryan yelled at Trevor pointing between Gillian and Devin. 

Beth’s vision blurred and her head swam, a red puddle had formed next to her.  It had to be a trick of the light or her slipping consciousness.  Trevor looked from Devin, who was moving further from him around his boxes, to Gillian who was trapped against a wall to Ryan.  Ryan held a gun and had several escape routes.  Zombie Trevor ignored the command, he moved straight at Ryan.

“What are you doing? Get them!  This is my will as your king!  As God willed it..Stop! No No NOOOOOOO” Disbelief filled Ryan’s eyes as Trevor advanced on him.  “You will do as I say and I say aAARRRGGHHHH.”   Ryan’s words were drowning in his own blood as Trevor’s teeth tore into his throat. 

Falling backward Ryan pushed Trevor off him.  Taking aim he shot him through the skull.  Clutching at his throat he mouthed at Devin, eyes wide as blood began to fill his lungs.  The door finally crashed open, Hector ran to Beth raising his rifle and sighting it in on Ryan.   

Ryan tried feebly to raise his own weapon at Hector.  Gillian walked right up to Ryan who tried to raise the weapon to aim at her.  She slapped the gun aside, “you will not find your paradise,” she pulled the gun from his hand.  There was a second’s terrible pause when Ryan knew it was the end.  Gillian shot him between the eyes.   His dying expression was of shock. 

Devin and Gillian pushed him to the edge of the dock.  Ryan’s body fell out the open door amongst the clawing and reaching dead.   They held him for a second, then, let his lifeless body fall to ground to be trampled.     

Hector looked down at the body until it was covered by the dead.  He slammed the garage door back down, severing a zombie arm in the process.  “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”  He breathed. 

Gillian stood staring at the closed door.  Tears streamed down her face.  “We had made it so far.  From the office, through town and he never, never lost his sense of humor!”  She wiped furiously at her cheeks.  “How?  How could this happen?  How could one of us, the living do that to him?”   

“Gillian, come on Gill!  Hey, Beth needs you.”  Devin whispered taking her by the arm.  She seemed to come to herself. 

“Beth?  Is she ok?” 

“I think she got shot.” 

Gillian grabbed Devin’s hand and squeezed it in thanks then rushed to Hector who was crouched next to Beth, helping her pull off her jacket.  Beth tried again to move her arm as Gillian inspected the damage.  “Stop, stop, we need to get that bandaged and in a sling.”  Gillian said cradling Beth’s injured limb.               

Hector smiled at Beth, “Doesn’t look to bad sister.” 

Beth cried out grabbing the sleeve of Hector’s shirt.  Gillian pressed Beth’s arm and turned it.  Beth turned greenish white, “Oh I may puke on you. OOOHHH.” 

“You are lucky.  It looks like it was a small bullet…”

“Probably a 22.”  Hector suggested.

“Well it seems to have passed right between the ulna and radius.  Might have nicked one or the other but neither seems broken.”

“Hurts like hell.”  Beth said through gritted teeth. 

              Hector and Devin search through the warehouse coming up with a first aid kit and several clean looking sheets and towels. While they search they ignored the banging on the loading dock doors, but avoided getting too near them.  Devin eyed the rollers and rails with apprehension.  Hector help fashion a sling for Beth’s injured arm.  “This totally sucks.”  She said inspecting her bandaged limb, cringing while trying to move her fingers.  Gillian wrapped a new jacket over Beth’s shoulders. 

              “Let’s see if there is anything useful here and then get the hell out.”  Devin said.    

Devin, Hector and Gillian searched through all the sleeping areas.  They found some clean clothes and toiletries.  Gillian walked up to Beth, who was trying to help by sorting some of the items the others had found and brought to her.  She was filling several bags and boxes.  She looked at some of the things people had thought to save.  She thought about what was in her own bag.  She thought about the book she had grabbed on her flight from the house.  It felt like a thousand years had passed since Steve had been giving her a hard time about it.