Eastern Front: Zombie Crusade IV (24 page)

David just shook his
head in amazement, “And now he finds his nephew all the way down in Vicksburg.”

Gabe, who’d been listening in on t
he quiet explanation, whispered, “Quite a coincidence. Makes me think of how some people seem to be connected in ways we can’t see.”

“Don’t start getting all mystical on me; I get enough of that with Luke,” David teased.

They all grew respectfully quiet as Carter finally released the teen and turned him to face his friends. “Guys, this is my nephew, T.C.”

             
Once the introductions were complete, the Vicksburg settlement received the strangers from the north with open arms. Carter and the others weren’t quite sure how T.C. had gained the position of trust he obviously held with Captain Harden, but the teen’s vetting of the leather-clad fighters was good enough for the security chief. The locals led the newcomers along a reinforced trail that ran from the dock up to the ramp leading to the bridge, where Carter and his team got their first look at the settlement established by the refugees from Tennessee.

             
The bridge appeared to be at least a thousand meters long, wide enough to hold a four-lane interstate highway. A rail bridge ran just to the north of the span they were approaching. The fortifications dwarfed anything the Indiana soldiers had seen in all of their travels. Two, forty-foot-high walls constructed of stone blocks and topped with iron grills that stuck out horizontally from the fighting platforms guarded each entrance to the bridge. Gates that appeared to be copied from those found in medieval castles were fitted with three portcullises that looked strong enough to stop modern battle tanks.

David was awestruck as they passed under the massive walls. “How on earth did you build these things?”

Captain Harden, a lean man with the eyes of a soldier who’s seen too much death, answered in his gravelly voice. “This was the first thing we did when we got here. Used heavy equipment and everyone worked on ‘em till they were finished. We got overrun at our last place, and we were sure we were safe there. We made bigger walls this time.”

T.C. added, “We also keep a fleet stocked and ready in case we have to retreat again. You wouldn’t believe the size of the infected-army that attacked us in Tennessee.”

“Blackhawks leading tens of thousands of the fittest flesh-eaters you ever faced?” David asked.

Harden stopped in mid-stride and turned to glare at the strangers. “How’d you know that?”

Carter held up a hand in a gesture meant to calm the jittery officer. “What happened to yer people has been happenin’ all over the eastern and southern United States.”

“You mean, what used to be the United States,” Harden pointed out.

“Yep,” Carter agreed. “The man behind all of this, the virus, the attacks on settlements, is a crazy general named Barnes. He claims to be workin’ for the government, but there ain’t no government. Barnes is just tryin’ to take the country for hisself. We’re tryin’ to stop him.”

The explanation seemed to mollify Harden, who grunted once and turned back to leading the team through the walls. Once on the other side of the second barricade, Carter and the others could see the next construction project was well on its way to being completed.
The inhabitants were building cabins along the southern edge of the bridge, apparently using materials scavenged from existing homes in the area as well as what remained in hardware stores. Each cabin looked to be about fifty feet long and thirty feet wide, most with modern vinyl siding and shiny, new chimneys from wood-burning stoves already sending long tendrils of grey smoke into the late afternoon sky. Trucks and horse-drawn wagons were hauling tons of firewood and grain containers to storage areas directly in front of the cabins.

“These people are getting ready for winter,” David admiringly observed.

“We don’t know what’s goin’ on with the cold,” T.C. explained, “but we’re preparin’ for the worst.”

Just then a little girl ran up and grabbed T.C. around the waist. He squeezed her shoulder affectionately for a moment. “Hey the
re Lucy, I need you to go find Momma and bring her to the meeting house right away.”

The girl pulled back from her brot
her, peering up at him with huge brown eyes surrounded by freckles and wisps of curly brown hair haphazardly springing out from beneath her wool cap. “What’s up?”

  “It’s good news this time, baby-g
irl. Now you run along and get Momma for me; she’s gonna want to know what’s going on.”

Lucy took a couple steps back from T.C. and smirked, “H’mmm, I wanna know what the good news is too. Can I co
me into the meetin’ house with Momma?”

“Ye
s! Now go get her like I said.”

Carter chuckled, “Well, there’s a chip off the ‘ol block if I ever saw one.”

T.C. just shook his head in mock exasperation, “Little turd needs to learn how to follow orders.”

“Yeah?” Carter wondered, “I knew a little boy just like her not too long ago.”

Captain Harden growled, “Too stubborn to die, and ain’t afraid to speak his mind. From the way he’s talked about his uncle, I guess it runs in the family.”

“You got that right, Captain,” David quipped.

A few minutes later everyone was in the large meeting house positioned between the walls and the residential areas. It was a bit larger than the homes, but not by much. A large stove sat in the middle of the main room, several pots of coffee and chicory percolating on top, filling the cozy confines with a delicious aroma that reminded everyone of a safer time in their lives. Captain Harden and members of the leadership council were anxious to hear the news brought by the northerners, but before they could ask their questions Carter’s sister slipped furtively through the door with Lucy on her heels.

The
Nordic-looking woman pulled her hood back and shook her chin-length blond hair free. The expression on her face showed how worried she was to be unexpectedly summoned to the meeting house. She quickly found T.C. sitting next to the captain and mouthed, “What do you want.”

T.C. smiled broadly and pointed to a stranger in motorcycle leat
hers sitting a few feet away. Carter’s sister squinted as she looked at the newcomers. Suddenly her eyes filled with tears and she took a step back, covering her mouth with her hand.

Carte
r stood up and smiled, “Hey Charlotte.”

Charlotte didn’t move as she stared at her brother in disbelief. T.C. gave his mother a little shake. “Mom, it’s Uncle Carter. Aren’
t you gonna say something?”

Still not trusting herself to speak, Charlotte slowly walked over to Carter and took his face in her hands.

Carter smiled and gently whispered, “So are ya tryin’ to figure out if ya just walked into a dream come true or a familial nightmare?”

She lightly smacked his face before pulling him in to a bear hug.
“No doubt about it, it’s really you. Smart ass trying to sound all impressive, like some hillbilly professor.” She stepped back to get a good look at him again, and wiped away the silent tears rolling down her cheeks.  “Even in that ridiculous get-up, you sure are a sight for sore eyes.”

“Well, that might
just be due to our family resemblance. Ya always did like lookin’ in the mirror.” Carter teased. As he stared at Charlotte, his lighthearted tone shifted to serious concern. “I can’t say I blame ya; I could stand here and stare at ya all day. I’m sorry fer bein’ a stubborn jerk.”

“I could say the exact same thing,” Charlotte offered, “so let’s just forget about it.”

“Works fer me,” Carter agreed. He scanned the room before dropping his voice and quietly asking, “Curtis around?”

“No,” Charlotte answered coolly, “he’s not.”

Carter knew his sister well enough to understand that she was distancing herself from her emotions; she’d always had a knack at detaching herself from pain. He wasn’t sure if he should probe for any details about his brother-in-law, but somehow Captain Harden had overheard the name mentioned and couldn’t refrain from interjecting himself into the conversation.

“Curtis Jacobs is a sacred name around here, my friend,” the captain interrupted. “We never would have made it out of Tennessee without him. That mountain of a man could fight off a dozen eaters at once, and he was smarter t
han any man I’ve ever met. He saved my life more times than I can count, and he sacrificed himself to make our escape possible.”  

Charlotte stared at Carter, chin held high, with T.C. and Lucy at her side.  “He couldn’t forgive himself for not listening to you, even though it was me who convinced him that we didn’t need to go to that castle of yours.
”

“Why?” The question was out before Carter could stop it.

“Stubbornness, I guess,” Charlotte explained. “You didn’t back me up when I was trying to send a message to Uncle Larry and his family about not accepting Curtis because he was black. You should have cut them off, like I did, but you just tried to get along with everybody and not take sides. How could you not take sides?” She paused for a breath, and the fire in her eyes faded to blank indifference. “But we just agreed to forget about that.”

Carter looked miserable. “I ain’t ever been good at apologizin’, but before ya go fergetin’ ‘bout how I disappointed ya, let me say I’m truly sorry.  I never put myself in yer shoes, and I was a lazy brother.
You didn’t seem to need me, goin’ off to college on a scholarship and marryin’ a football star. I shoulda listened to ya.”

“And I should have believed your unlikely story about a zombie virus,” Charlotte replied. “We got busy with our lives, big brother, and we drifted apart. I held a grudge, and you were a clueless macho man.
” A small smile slowly crept over her face, “I guess you needed to overcompensate since your little sister could always kick your ass.”   

Carter protested, “Once I hit puberty I could hold my own.”

“Maybe, but you were a late bloomer. I think you were driving before your voice changed.”

David couldn’t help but laugh out loud, which drew a narrow-eyed glare from Carter. “I’m David Smith,” he said, offering Charlotte his hand, “and I have no idea how your saintly mother didn’t lose her mind raising you two.”

Charlotte actually squealed, “Momma, oh my lord, how is she? Where is she? Is she alright?”

“She’s fine,” Carter reassured his sister, “and she’ll be even better when she sees ya’ll
.” He motioned to T.C. and Lucy. “Next time we radio Fort Wayne, all of ya’ll should talk to her.”

Captain Harden held up his hand indicating that he was about to call the meeting to order. Charlotte took a seat in the front and pulled Lucy into her lap, while T.C. reclaimed his old spot next to Harden’s side.

Carter and David took turns explaining everything that had transpired, even going back to what had happened in Afghanistan a decade earlier when the virus first appeared. The story took hours to share, and by the time they were finished the leaders of the Vicksburg settlement looked at the northern fighters in a much different light. Everything they heard matched up with what they had experienced and learned from groups of refugees traveling downriver. A few people had been holding onto hope that some vestiges of government and authority remained, but nobody was surprised to learn that they were on their own.

Finally, Captain Harden asked the m
ost important question, “How can we help you fellas?”

“Jack plans to lead Barnes west,” Carter carefully explained, “find a place along the river to make a stand.”

Harden nodded as he growled, “And he’s thinkin’ about leadin’ the bastard to Vicksburg . . . ”

Carter shrugged, “We didn’t know anybody was here till we met the folks up in Cairo. We could try to divert Barnes from here, but the bridges along the Ohio are all wrecked so he needs a crossing spot on the Mississippi for his army.”

“Memphis?” Harden suggested.

“Maybe, but we heard Memphis is a wreck. If Barnes can’t get his monsters through the city to the bridge, he ain’t gonna go that way.”

“So lead the son-of-a-bitch north of Memphis!”

Carter kept his voice neutral and calm. Then he lied. “I’ll definitely tell him that y’all are here, and he needs
to figure out another plan. I’m just tryin’ to explain what brought us downriver. Ya think I’d endanger my own family?”

Harden leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I know Kentucky and Tennessee like the back of my hand. Your boy goes messin’ around with Barnes
, and geography and weather are gonna drive him south. If this Jack character starts blowin’ bridges along the Cumberland and Tennessee, he’s gonna force that army of infected this way, especially if Memphis is unusable.”

“Well, I don’t know the lay of the land as well as you do, sir, but I do plan to get back and find Jack as soon as possible.”

David had kept quiet as the tense exchange between the two soldiers unfolded, but now he felt like he had to make a point. “Captain, you do know that Barnes will come for this bridge eventually, right?”

Harden just shrugged.