Zombologist Book 1 Zombie Hunters (Zomboligist Series) (8 page)

****

II

Saturday Night

Joe was cold. The fire had died down and it was late. He
felt around for his glasses and waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
He could just make out the 3 bodies of his brother and his slumbering friends
around the dying campfire.

Joe looked into the night above, maybe 4 a.m. by the
constellations in the sky, Joe thought. He checked his watch. 3:48 a.m.

“Yeah, I’m cool”
he muttered under his breath,
satisfied that he came close to telling the hour by the position of the Big
Dipper.

Joe shivered.

Feeling for the edge of his sleeping bag, he felt a cold
flow of air nip at his neck.

“Geez, it’s cold” Joe said out loud, looking around for the
source of the cold air. It was a warm night, humid in fact. So, where was that
cool air coming from? He looked up at the trees above. They were absolutely
still. There was no breeze blowing that he could see.

Another blast of cool air assaulted him. He extended his
hand right into the cool stream and followed the path with the tips of his
fingers. Directly to the left of him he watched as the vines that hung from the
overhanging rock began to sway. The cold air must be coming from there. The
leaves rustled eerily as if on their own accord.

As if to confirm his discovery, leaves from one of the
vines fluttered slightly as another cold blast hit him.

“Wow.” Joe reached for his tree-branch crutch and after
several painful tries he got to his feet. Hopping on one foot and using the
crutch as a support Joe made his way to the vines. With one hand balancing his
weight on a jutted rock sticking from the cliff wall, he stuck his hand through
the swinging vines. He expected to hit the rock wall but his hand went right
through.  The cold air blew stronger.

He grabbed a fistful of vines and pulled them aside. There,
behind the hanging vines, he saw by moonlight, a small recess cut into the
overhanging rock.

Nice.

“Hey, guys” Joe whispered as loud as he could in the
darkness.

Nothing.

“Kyle, Kyle, wake up. Kyle.” Joe’s whispers were getting
louder now, but still Kyle did not move.

With frustration Joe yelled, “Kyle. Wake. The. Hell. Up!”

Finally, Joe saw Kyle move.

“What the hell? Joe, what are you doing?”

“Get over here; look what I found. I think…. I think it’s
an ice cave.”

Just then, another burst of cold air hit him. He began to
shiver.

By the light of the moon the boys began clearing the brush
around the cave entrance and pulling down the vines.

The breeze was so cold now that Kyle, Marco, Alf and Joe
could see their breath.

 “Wow, this is so cool. It’s an ice cave. I’ve heard of
them.” Marco began to tell the tale of the ice mine history.

“Years ago prospectors dug in the area looking for iron
ore. Many of the tunnels they dug were empty and they just abandoned them.
Look,” Marco pointed at a rusted iron barred gate that hung cockeyed and rusted.
“They would seal the cave with gates just like this.”

Marco continued, “Many of these caves are natural too. The
rocks freeze in the winter then in the spring, the melted snow seeps in from
above and is refrozen inside the cave. The ice doesn’t melt due to the cool air
flowing down the mountainside and humid air rising up inside the tunnel. This
keeps the ice mines cool until late summer, like a giant natural refrigerator.
I’m surprised this one is still cool.”

“We definitely have to investigate! But, it’s still dark,
let’s have some breakfast and by the time we’re finished, it should be light
enough to go in. Come on.” Kyle started throwing wood onto the fire to start the
breakfast… toasted marshmallow and jelly sandwiches.

****

Sunday Morning

“I will just sit out here and keep watch. Okay guys? Guys?”
Joe looked around and didn’t see anyone. “K, just sitting here like a dumb-ass
talking to myself.”

Joes pout was noticeable to anyone watching, but like he
said, he was only talking to himself.

They had left him and went inside the cave to explore.

“Yea, don’t worry numb nuts; I’ll protect your worthless
asses.” Joe yelled from his spot near the dying fire. His ankle was throbbing
horribly, swollen nearly twice its normal size. The purple bruise sat boldly
atop the puffy skin below. It looked horrid by the fire last night, but now, Joe
could clearly see how bad it looked in the daylight.

Joe picked up a stick and began to stir the embers of last
night’s fire for lack of something to do. He jumped as a twig snapped somewhere
behind him. He quickly reminded himself that squirrels, chipmunks and deer lived
in the woods.

And bear.

Damn, why did he think of that?  Every once in a while he
heard a snap of twig, a rustle in the bushes. Joe stared into the woods,
silently wishing he wasn’t alone. Searching the ground around him he spotted his
make shift crutch a few yards away. Taking a deep breath Joe lay on his side and
carefully laid his bad ankle on top of his calf.  Cautiously as not to bump his
bad ankle he slowly inched his way over.

Fifteen minutes later Joe was hopping his way into the
cave.

****

Inside the cave the boys were ecstatic. The ice shaft
wasn’t very deep but near the back they had found an additional tunnel that lead
into yet another cave. It was from this cave that the cold air was flowing from.
They were inspecting the tunnel, shinning their flashlights inside, talking
quietly amongst themselves.

Kyle thought a grown man or woman could slide in once the
thick layer of ice encircling the outer rim of the tunnel was removed. But then,
someone as hefty as their Math teacher would get stuck. Just the thought of Mr.
Hinkle getting stuck sent him into gales of laughter.

“What you laughing at nerd?” Marco asked nudging him
roughly.

“Could you see Hinkle getting his fat ass through that
hole?” Kyle said between cracked laughter.

The teenagers bust into fits of laughter. “How about his
wife, she’s even rounder than he is.” Marco said between gales of laughter,
turning toward Alfonzo and Kyle. ”It would take a gallon of soap to slide them
in here.”

Joe voice cut through the laughter, “Hey what’s so funny?
Wow, is that what I think it is? Is that another cave?”

The laughter died down as the boys turned to see Joe
standing in the entrance way of the cave.

“Joe, what are you doing? How’s the leg, man?” asked his
brother Kyle.

“It’s okay.” Joe said hobbling closer. “You guys going in?”
The pain was all but forgotten as Joe’s interest piqued.

“The ice is pretty thick right here, but it’s wide enough
that we can fit.” Alfonzo said pointing just inside the opening of the tunnel.
“We might have to chip just a few inches of this ice away.” Alfonzo fell to the
ground and tried to wiggle through. “Yeah just as I thought, it’s a little tight
right there. I’m going to see what I have in my pack. Be right back.”

Without another word, Alfonzo tore outside and quickly
returned with a hunting knife. He immediately set to chipping away some of the
ice.

All three working as a team, Alfonzo chipped for a while
and then Marco and Kyle took turns. Finally the hole was big enough so the
biggest of the four, Alfonzo, would be able to slip through.

One at a time Marco, Alfonzo and Kyle slithered through.
Joe stayed at the entrance peering through the opening slightly jealous. He
didn’t want to take the chance of jarring his ankle slithering through the hole.
He knew he would be back at sometime in the future just to check it out further.
But for now, he stayed put.

“What do you see?” Joe yelled through the hole.

From the light of his flashlight, combined with the light
from the three inside, he couldn’t see through the darkness. The cavern must be
HUGE!

‘Hey guys, how deep is it?” Joe tried again.

“Pretty deep. The ceiling is way up there too Joe.” Alfonzo
said.

“Yeah, as if I can see what you’re talking about, Alf” Joe
could barely make out the back of the boys legs, let alone the top of the cave.
He could barely see the beam of the light flashing off the walls.

****

Marco was doing a slow turn taking in the size of the cave.
Suddenly he stopped. He was facing the wall behind the tunnel they had just
crawled through. He could see the beam of Joe’s light filling the hole.

He waited for his eyes to adjust, squinting into the
darkness.

“Hey, what’s that?”  Marco‘s light traveled into a recess
cut roughly 5 foot deep into the wall.

As the boys turned Marco yelled something unintelligible
and stumbled backward, arms jerking and flashlight splashing wild along the
ceiling, walls, floor, back to the ceiling. As Marco righted himself, his
expression was visible.

Alfonzo and Kyle noticed a transformation in their friends
face. Marco’s soft brown skin had disappeared and was replaced by a pasty
whiteness. His eyes were wide open; mouth agape, frozen terror set into his
features.

“L…L….Look. Uhhh, look!” Marco mustered. His wide eyes
never budged. They were firmly anchored on a spot just behind his two friends.

Alfonzo and Kyle turned slowly, fear grabbing at their
guts. The air inside the cave suddenly felt colder, denser.

Illuminated in the light’s beam lay a body.

*******

Jana was surprised she had slept in so late. Max would be
home in just a few days and she had so much to do. Jana silently cursed as she
flung the covers back in disgust.

She hit the stairs running thinking about Maxine. Maxine
had left several weeks ago to tour the Greater Yellowstone area.
The society
was currently setting up safe zones in Cody and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  She was
there to supervise and oversee the set up and was taking full advantage of being
in the proximity of some of the most magnificent views in the U.S.; touring,
backpacking and pack riding into the rugged terrain and enjoying every minute of
it.

Jana filled the coffee container and opened her laptop. She
would finish her report in no time. She made sure to mentioned Demase’s
arrogance and hostility toward allowing her to see his ‘creature’. Willis Dye
had a more favorable report except for the three he had not reported to
the
society
. He would be put on a high alert watch list.

Several cups of coffee later, Jana finished her report, ate
a light breakfast, dressed and headed to the barn to help Buck with the cows and
horses. Buck lived just up the road near Bulls Creek, and worked 4 days of the
week tending to the livestock. He was another ‘rescue’ of
the society
and
preferred to stay close to the safe house.

Chores done, Jana mounted her favorite mare and took off
for a ride around the perimeter. She quickly inspected the 8 foot high stone
fence looking for possible breaches or weak spots. There were several spots
where thick rods of steel were set in the foundation of rock that allowed the
streams to run through the land. The bars were set approximately 8 inches apart,
not wide enough for a man or woman to squeeze through, but wide enough for the
small wildlife to scurry back and forth.

The ride was calming and serene. She lived within one of
the most secluded areas of the Alleghany Mountains.  The land was lush and thick
with a variety of trees, and brush. There were several meadows alive with deer
and beautifully colored monarchs fluttering over the many indigenous wild
flowers.

Within the confines of the thick forest were several
outcroppings of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberry crops, all
strategically placed in case of a major outbreak. The deer that lived freely on
the land were also placed there for food. The land was intended as a sanctuary
for survivors.

Jana had just about finished her inspection when her cell
phone beeped with a ‘missed call’ warning. There were several black out spots in
the mountains so missed calls were not uncommon. It was Dillon. Odd, he never
called this early. With sudden apprehension Jana dialed her voice mail.

Suddenly Dillon’s voice filled the air, obviously in a
hurry, his sentences were short and choppy, “Jana, we have a probable rouge
attack. Small area near Brook, Maryland, on a ranch, out in the middle of
nowhere, 2 adults, one elderly grandmother and several grandchildren. One likely
bitten,” Dillon took a deep breath and continued, “So far the situation is
contained with scouts on the ground hunting the walkers.