Alaskan Undead Apocalypse (Book 4): Resolution (61 page)

The military intervened, but its efforts
were hampered by uncertainty and political interference.
Indiscriminate bombing and strafing was avoided, in the beginning;
so it fell to the ground troops to sort predator from prey, a
process that had cost time they could scarcely afford. While the
military units were deployed to hold strong points and maintain
escape routes for civilians, zombies merely moved from feeding to
feeding. Unfortunately, the simplicity of the undeads’ approach was
quickly overwhelming the early strategy of the soldiers; the
undead’s ranks swelling by the thousands with new members in
military fatigues was telling.

Geography became humanity’s best hope. At
the Rockies, the festering advance was slowed. Roads through the
mountains were blocked, sometimes permanently, by the desperate
efforts of military and civilian engineers and demolitions experts.
Like quicksilver spreading on an uneven table, the army of dead
eventually found passes and other ways around obstacles both
natural and manmade. The efforts bought much needed time for the
beleaguered and diminished forces defending the North American
continent.

Canadian and American armed forces ceded
most of the northwestern portion of the Western Hemisphere as they
fell back. They were forced to sacrifice land and lives while they
determined how to counter the seemingly unstoppable menace.

No one knew for sure who decided or when,
but it was determined a stand would be made along a line formed by
the Mississippi River, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River which
emptied into Hudson Bay. This strategy sought to protect the
Eastern halves of Canada and the United States of America. There
were questions raised about defending southern routes into Mexico,
Central America, and South America, but the grim reality was that
the dwindling forces still available simply could not be stretched
far enough to make any difference to a southward advance.

Amazingly, residents from Texas, New Mexico,
and Arizona joined forces with the population of northern Mexico to
improve their chances. The Rio Grande, while a lengthy river,
couldn’t be expected to withstand the tide as well as its larger
sibling the Mississippi, but efforts were started, in vain
unfortunately, to bolster that geographical landmark. Heavy
equipment pushed and piled mountains of soft, dry earth along the
river’s edge. It was never going to be enough but they had to
try.

In a matter of days, Mexico City and its
millions were swallowed whole, but the horde was not done. The
press of death continued southward impeded by nothing but the speed
with which their tireless legs could carry them.

Unfortunately, the infection wasn’t
contained to the Americas. Derelict water craft, from monstrous
oceangoing passenger liners to small skiffs, began to wash up on
distant Asiatic shores. Disgorging their deadly cargo wherever they
came to rest, these hellish arks unknowingly and unintentionally
transported the voracious undead to some of the most densely
populated urban centers in the world. Korea, Japan, China, and the
island nations of the South Pacific were lands for the plague to
feed.

That was as much as the woman on the phone
knew and it was likely more than any of them could process after a
single conversation anyway. It wasn’t pretty or ideal, but so far
humanity was holding. It appeared as if man was going to be able to
face down its doom and come out on top again.

William was the last one on the phone with
the lady. They exchanged some information and assured one another
that they would speak again. When William disconnected the call and
turned toward everyone, he couldn’t find the words to express all
that he had been told. He looked at the children and the other
adults.

It was Jules who asked, “So, what did she
say?”

William smiled and with a pool of tears
forming in his eyes, he said, “I think we’re gonna be alright. She
said everything was going to be okay.”

Sean Schubert moved from Indiana to Alaska
in 1993. He originally ventured to Alaska for a summer of adventure
but he and his wife fell in love with the state and made it their
permanent home. Schubert earned a degree in English/Literature from
Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN, where he found encouragement
and inspiration to continue to develop his love of writing. Authors
such as Tom Robbins, Christopher Moore, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and Toni
Morrison have all influenced his style and approach to his craft.
When Schubert is not writing about zombies or the end of the world,
he can usually be found playing soccer with his son and daughter or
watching one of their games.