Taking It Back (30 page)

In all honesty, I wasn’t sure I was going to find my brother. For all I knew, he had moved on, figuring me for dead. But I needed to at least try and that was the point of this journey. I decided to put the boat in at the far end of the park and we would work our way through the trails, making sure we didn’t miss anything. Just because my brother said he was going to be at Fort St. Louis didn’t mean he was going to sit on top of a rock until I showed up.

We brought the boat into a small inlet and beached it. Charlie cut the engine and we jumped ashore, bringing the remaining mooring line to tie up to a tree. I wasn’t exactly sure where we were, since I didn’t have a map, but the good news was maps were all over the trails, letting you know exactly how far from your car you were. The vegetation was not yet full, as summer had a month to go before being in full swing, but it was still pretty greened over. The large trees bracketed the trail and brush reached in from the sides. Large ferns were growing and would eventually cover the ground. I could hear movement from small animals as we headed west, jumping out of our way, chattering their disapproval. The morning sunlight made the tops of the trees light up like they were on fire while the ground was still dark. We had to move through this and I was hoping we had arrived unnoticed.

We moved quickly along the river, our progress fairly silent, save for the occasional water dweller that dove for safety as we passed. Charlie nudged me as we went past a trail marker and said, “Something’s not right.”

I stopped and looked around. “What do you mean?” I said in a low voice.

Charlie scanned the area with his rifle and scope. “Something’s watching us.”

“Zombie?” I asked, raising my carbine.

“Don’t know. How much farther?”

I looked at the marker. “Maybe three quarters of a mile, maybe more.”

“Good. This is giving me the creeps,” Charlie said.

That made me nervous. Anything that could creep out a guy like Charlie who had seen and done the things he had, was something worth avoiding.

We moved forward, with our senses on higher alert. I could feel something out there as well, but I couldn’t get a read on what it was. I held my carbine low, ready to snap it up and fire in an instant. We moved quickly, but carefully. And all the while we checked all around us. I thought I saw a ghost of movement in the shadows down a trail to a canyon and brought my gun up, but didn’t see anything else.

Charlie saw my movement. “Anything?”

“No. But you’re right, something is out there, I’m sure of it.” To emphasize my point, something large moved suddenly in the brush behind us, but it was still too dark to see clearly.

“We’re being hunted” Charlie said, gripping his rifle tighter.

“You’re right.” I stepped forward again. “We are. We’d better get moving to some open space. Keep your eyes open, check everything, especially the trees. Too many places to hide up there.”

We doubled our pace, moving past a stairway to an overlook, heading west. The beauty of the forest was marred by the ominous feeling we got from the darkness. The sun was getting higher in the sky and the forest was becoming lighter, but there were still plenty of places to hide. In all honesty, I would have rather had a zombie gunning for me than whatever it was out there. At least a zombie was predictable.

The trail wound inward and if anything else that made it more tense. When the trail was by the river we didn’t have to worry about an attack from water which left three sides to worry about. Now we had to worry about all sides.

After about a quarter mile, Charlie spoke suddenly. “I wish whatever the hell is out there would just get it over with. This stalking shit is getting on my nerves.”

I nodded, but his sentence struck a nerve. Stalking. It raised a question I had never considered before. What happened to the animals in the zoos? Sure, most of them would die of starvation after a while or freeze to death, but what about those that had the ability to get out? If I had to guess, we were being stalked by a large animal, possibly a cougar or other exotic animal.

I related my thoughts to Charlie as we moved up towards another overlook.

Charlie shook his head. “It’s fucking crazy, but it makes sense. As if we didn’t have just the zombies eating us to worry about, now we have to worry about big cats eating us.”

“Could be worse,” I said.

“How the hell could it be worse?” Charlie said, stepping over a fallen tree branch.

“Zombie cougars.” Even though I was joking, there was a serious side. If the virus jumped species and made zombies out of animals, we had a whole shit load of new problems to worry about.

We moved up a stairwell to Eagle Cliff Overlook and looked out over the expanse of water that made the Illinois River. The rising sun glanced off the water, sending small shafts of light back to the heavens. The forest spread out in front of us and we could see the roof top of the lodge from where we were.

“We’re close,” I said, heading back to the stairs.

“So is that,” Charlie said, pointing. A treetop suddenly swayed and another moved just as suddenly, as if something heavy had jumped from one tree to another. Watching the spot, I headed back down the stairs, but when we went around an outcropping of rock, the spot I had marked was empty.

“We know you’re there…” I said, moving forward again.

“Here, kitty, kitty, goddamn kitty,” Charlie said through gritted teeth, tightening his grip on his rifle.

We moved away from the overlook and headed deeper into the woods. It was unnaturally quiet and my nerves were quickly becoming undone. I had faced hundreds of zombies, but I had never been this nervous. From the sweat I could see on Charlie’s face, he felt the same way.

A rustle in the trees caught my attention. In a flash I brought my rifle up and fired a shot, the echo blasting through the forest. Charlie whipped his rifle up, ready to cover me. I saw a tawny shape disappear into the brush and it was then I knew what was stalking us.

“Did you get it?” Charlie asked, still trying to find something to shoot at.

“No, but I scared the crap out of it,” I said, staring hard at the spot where it had disappeared.

“What was it?”

“Cougar.”

“You sure?”

“Go look if you doubt it,” I said.

“Screw that. Where do you think it came from?” Charlie asked.

“Probably from a zoo, followed the river and ended up here. Can’t fault it for its choice of hunting ground.”

We moved forward again, angling west more. I figured that shot would have alerted anyone in the vicinity that someone was here. Carbines are notoriously loud and mine was no exception. If my brother was here, he had to know someone was in his backyard by now.

The heavy brush started to thin out and I could see some clearings up ahead. If memory served correctly, we were pretty close to our objective.

A few more yards and we were in the clear. I looked around and noticed a pair of legs sticking out from under a bush. Moving closer, I saw it was a zombie or what used to be a zombie. Its grayish skin and bloodstained clothing gave it away. However, it was dead because of the massive bite in its neck and the large bites which had penetrated its skull. Chunks of meat had been ripped of it, leading me to believe this zombie had met our little kitten in the woods.

30

The Visitor Center was visible from where we were and the trail to the top of Starved Rock. I figured to check out the Visitor Center first, as it would be a place I would hole up if I had to. Starved Rock itself was a great site to visit, but was lousy for long term habitation. I moved forward with Charlie taking the rear, casting worried glances over his shoulder as he did so. When we reached the Visitor Center, I looked carefully into the dark interior. I could see the gift shop and the model table, but not much else. I tried the door and found it unlocked. I eased myself into the foyer with Charlie right behind me.

We stood stock still for a moment, getting our bearings. I knew there was a small café on the other side of the center, but I wanted to make sure we were alone. Hearing nothing, I slung my carbine over my shoulder and drew my SIG. Anything that happened here would be extreme close quarters. Charlie followed suit, but pulled his twin tomahawks rather than his Glock.

I moved over to the historical section and shined my flashlight around, giving myself a small start when the light played over the mannequins dressed as French explorers. Charlie checked out the book section, then walked back. His foot struck a walking stick on the floor and sent it clattering across the hall.

I looked at Charlie and he shrugged sheepishly. I was about to comment when I heard something. I raised a hand and pointed to my ear and Charlie nodded. He had heard something, too.

The sun was higher in the sky, allowing for more sunlight to stream in the doors and filtered skylights and I moved through the center on silent feet. Getting closer to the heavy wooden doors that separated the café from the information center, I heard more clearly what I thought I had heard before. There was muted whispering and what sounded like whimpering. I tried to look through one of the panes of glass in the door, but could only see tables and chairs. I pushed the door open slightly and the noise suddenly stopped and I heard scuffling. Somebody was alive in here.

I pushed the door wider and whispered, “Hello? Is someone in here?” I stepped back to the side in case whoever was in there wasn’t friendly.

Nothing happened and I waited for a second. “Hello? Anybody there? We’re here to help.” Charlie cocked an eyebrow at me but I ignored him.

Suddenly the door flung open and a large bearded man burst through, pointing a handgun all around. He didn’t immediately see us, which allowed me to step up to him and put my SIG against his temple. “That’s enough. Put it down.”

The man breathed heavily, then lowered the gun. Charlie stepped up and took it from his hand. I stayed on the side, keeping an eye on the man’s hands. I took in the man’s appearance and he looked like he had been through the ringer. His clothes were filthy and matted and his hair was long and unkempt. I expected the man to react, but I never expected him to drop to his knees, cover his face and start to cry.

I stepped back, fearing a trick, as the man sobbed into his hands. “Take what you want, but please don’t hurt my family. Please.”

The voice, while raspy, was familiar. I holstered my SIG and squatted down in front of him. I didn’t worry about him trying anything since Charlie was there.

“Hey,” I said, looking hard at the man.

He looked up and I found myself looking into my mother’s eyes. Only they didn’t belong to my mother. They belonged to my brother. I had found him. By all that’s holy, I had found him.

“I found your note,” I said. “You were supposed to be looking for me at Eagle Cliff.” I took off my goggles and balaclava and at the moment of recognition, threw my arms around my brother. Charlie stepped back and I had a hard time keeping the tears from my eyes as I held my baby brother.

Mike drew back, wiping his eyes. “Thank God. You came. Oh, thank God,” he kept saying over and over.

We stood up and Mike motioned us to follow him. We went through the doors and into the gift shop. There, hiding in the corner, was Mike’s family. Nicole was there, holding a whimpering Annie, and Logan was bravely standing in front of his mother, tears down his cheeks, trying to protect her from the bad guys.

I knelt down in front of Logan and said, “Hi, little buddy. Your cousin Jake misses you.” It took a minute for him to recognize me, then he threw his little arms around my neck and hugged me tight. I held on to him as I stood and gave Nicole a hug as well.

I put down Logan and introduced Charlie to everyone. Logan was as impressed as a three year old could be and asked to touch Charlie’s gun.

I spoke with Mike and Nicole for a few moments and realized that they had holed up in the visitor center when the cougar first came stalking. After that, it was touch-and-go as they finished their supplies and worked their way through the stores kept in the café. Once those ran out, Mike had been making runs to the lodge, bringing back what he could from the restaurant. Those runs became more dangerous as zombies from the town across the river began to cross the bridge and realized food was nearby. They had actually run out of food three days ago and were on the brink of collapse. When they heard us, they thought we were zombies at first, but when I had opened the door, they thought we were looters. Mike was actually out of bullets, so he had been hoping to surprise whoever had come in. When that didn’t work, he had just reached the end of his string.

I took off my pack and handed out the food and water I had in there and Charlie did the same. The family gratefully accepted the stores, making sure their children ate first. We had more in the boat, so I wasn’t concerned. Besides, we were going back to Leport as soon as possible.

I spent the next several minutes talking about what had happened to me since the Upheaval and Charlie jumped in as necessary. When we had finished, my brother looked at me with new eyes. “When did you become such a dangerous person?” he asked.

“‘Bout a year ago, give or take a month,” I said. “Believe me, if I had a choice, I’d have kept things the way they were.”