The Common Cold (Book 2): A Zombie Chronicle-Cabin Fever (16 page)

After a few minutes the low throb of helicopter rotors could
be felt drumming on the air. Soon the sound became directional and BB’s
helicopter could be heard making a circular approach, just as Mike had
recommended, so confusing their direction of travel to any strangers that might
be listening on the ground.

Suddenly three torches came on pointing at a single point on
the ground, the landing place. The intense blue-white LED lights reflected off
the now thin layer of snow, hopefully enough to guide BB in to the right place.
Danny peered into the sky and could dimly make out a dark blob where the
helicopter soaked up the moonlight causing a black hole. Suddenly the landing
lights came on and now Mike was illuminated in their bright glare, the red
towels flapping in the wind and directing BB into the landing spot. Gently
kissing the ground the enormous helicopter came to a rest. The engines began to
spool down immediately and the side door opened.

“Shit!” Danny cried. At that moment one of the torch lights
had caught the shape of a body lying prone just behind the fuselage. It must
have been on the aircraft as it hadn’t been there a moment ago. He ran over to
investigate and before anyone realised what he was doing he fired a shot into
its head. “Shine your torch over here Janet,” he cried to his wife. It had been
her light that had led to this discovery. Running over to him, her torch
revealed what he had just shot: a zombie had somehow managed to grab hold of
the helicopter’s wheel strut and had hung on for the whole journey, presumably
from the refuelling site attack.

“The damn thing was still moving,” Danny explained as others
came over to see what had happened.
“Looks like even extreme cold
is also no barrier to these bastards.”

BB stood beside him and gazed at the creature. He’d never
even detected it was there. “Will you help me get it off?” he asked Danny. The
thing’s arms were still tightly wrapped around the wheel strut, frozen in place.

“Sure, I’ll get a shovel.” He raced back to the cabin and
returned after a moment holding a couple of shovels. Between them they levered the
creature off and threw it onto the ever-increasing pile of corpses off to one
side.

*

Being the last two outside, BB and Danny closed up the
helicopter and secured the doors, then went inside. Conversation levels were
high - it was amazing to see how the hope provided by new survivors rubbed off
on the rest of the group. Life was just one long party, Danny thought
sardonically.

Expecting to introduce the two new arrivals to the rest of
the survivors, BB was not very surprised to see them already accepted as part
of the group; the women were clucking around them, determined to make the
additions feel at home as quickly as possible. From what he could tell, they
were consoling Emily on the loss of her family. The men had separated from the
gathering and were talking in low tones. He walked over and joined them.

“Welcome back, buddy,” Tom said enthusiastically, shaking
his friend’s hand.

“Good to be back,” he replied. “That was sure as hell a
frightening moment when we took off from the refuelling point. Those bastards
were creeping up on us under the snow; I just couldn’t believe what I was
seeing. And as for that fucker that held on…”

“
They’re tenacious bastards, that’s
for sure. Your warning came just in time, I can tell ya,” Chuck said. BB cocked
his head questioningly; he had not yet been informed of the skirmish that had
followed his earlier warning.

“They attacked you?” he asked; he’d hoped his was an
isolated incident, perhaps something learnt in their previous lives as
soldiers.

“Yep,” Chuck replied. “They pretty much surrounded us on all
sides. Since you left we’ve killed some thirty five or forty by now. You saw
the pile out there.”

“I did,” BB reflected, his face darkening. “I got an idea while
I was in SF. We landed at a VOR radio station once I’d pulled the girls out of the
house.”

“What’s a VOR radio station?” Chuck asked.

“It’s a radio navigation beacon for pilots. Anyway, it was
secure because it was surrounded by chain link fencing. I watched as some of
those zombie bastards came for us but couldn’t work out how to get around it.
There was even a gate in front of them but they didn’t seem to understand it at
all. Perhaps we could do something similar around here; it would allow us easily
to see what’s beyond it, there’d be no hiding places, and it wouldn’t stop a
bullet either which means we can stay this side of it if we need to, killing
the bastards in safety. What do you guys think?”

“It’s a lot of work,” Rob said. “I did some fencing one
summer when I was at Uni. Could we even dig into this soil? It’s frozen.”

“There might be a way,” Tom replied. “This community has
some support from the Beaver Reservoir Company. They maintain the roads up
here. Maybe they have digging equipment nearby we could use.”

“Where will we get the materials for this?” Danny
interjected.

“I know where,” Laurie said. She had walked over to Tom and overheard
the conversation. They all turned to hear what she knew. Embarrassed at the
sudden attention, she blushed but continued anyway. “Don’t forget I worked at
the Office of Emergency Management. I know where this stuff is stored ready for
emergencies.” The irony of working on such projects wasn’t lost on her, when
the going got tough, the tough just turned; when push came to shove everyone
was looking in entirely the wrong direction for the trouble that overtook them
so swiftly. At least some of the population would be able to benefit from the
supplies that had been laid up. “I’d say this was an emergency, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, babe,” Tom replied, taking her hand and squeezing it.
“I would.”

“Question is,” Chuck asked, “just how are we going to get it
up here?”

“We can use the choppers,” Mike replied. “How much does a
roll of chain link wire weigh, Laurie?”

She thought for a moment. “Depends on what sort, but about a
hundred and twenty pounds for a six by fifty foot roll.”

Mike thought for a moment. “I reckon that’s easily doable.
If we get some straps for haulage we can do it in a couple of runs if we use
both ’copters. What do you say BB?”

“I’m up for it.”

“Good. One of us can haul the wire, the other the posts and
other stuff. I presume you know what we need?” he asked, looking at Laurie.

“Yes. It’s stored in complete kits for certain lengths of
fencing, makes it quicker to deliver if all the components are matched up
already.”

“Damn, that’s good. How far away is all this stuff?”

“If I recall correctly the nearest one is at the National
Center
for Atmospheric Research just south of Bolder.
There’s a fenced off area and storage buildings within their grounds.”

“Blimey, I’d guess that’s only about fifteen minutes flying
time, isn’t it?” Danny exclaimed. “I can’t believe this might just be doable.”
Inside he felt like doing cartwheels. If they could put up a six foot chain
link fence, perhaps with some sort of electronic alarm system - Joshua could
almost certainly do that with his electrical knowledge - he might just feel
safe enough to have a good night’s sleep at some point in the near future. His
happiness was moderated as he figured out just how long this would take to get
it in place. Still, it offered hope at least.

They continued to discuss the logistics: how many cabins
should be within the enclave, what area the fence should enclose, and what they
could do to either electrify or at least alarm the fence and possibly even the
approach to their enclosure.

“Do we really think we won’t get some form of government back?
This all comes across as a lot of work for something that might not be needed
come spring.” Bill Mitchum spoke up. Although he had heard the shooting he
hadn’t witnessed much of it and wasn’t in a position to see the complete
picture. He still had hope.

“Bill. I have seen what it did to the UK,” Danny spoke
kindly in gentle tones. “I saw TV footage of what it was doing all round the
world to the east of us. It seemed as if it was following the sun, working its
way west. I’ve been thinking about that and it’s possible it was just following
the various populations as they woke up. America seemed a little more prepared
- perhaps they had more time to see what was going on elsewhere or just saw the
metaphorical tidal wave approaching the coastline. Whatever it was even the
prepared government couldn’t withstand it. Maybe the President is a zombie by
now, who knows? Perhaps he’s in some bunker for his protection but this isn’t a
nuke, it’s everywhere. I think there are probably lots of people like us out
there, but there’s no government coming to the rescue.”

“I think he’s right, buddy,” Tom agreed. “There’s really
nothing on the radio, no emergency broadcasts, not a goddam thing, it’s as if
radio hasn’t been invented yet.”

“Okay. I guess the truth is coming in loud and clear.” He
turned his head in the direction of where BB’s voice had come from. “Hey man,
can you get your missus to have a look see at my eyes? I’d really like to get
these damn bandages off as soon as. I hate this.”

“Sure. I’ll get her.” BB walked over to the women who had
moved into the kitchen area and were in the process of cooking the last of the
fresh meat obtained by Sandy. Emily looked like she could eat a whole cow, the
way she was eyeing the meat was a little frightening. Poor thing, he thought.

“How’s it going guys?” he asked.

“Just fine,
hon
,” Sandy replied.
“You hungry?
You must be after all that flying.”

“Damn. I wasn’t until I smelled that lot,” he replied, his
mouth watering a little.

She smiled. “About ten minutes and you can have some.
And Emily.
If I don’t feed her she’ll be gnawing my arm
off.” Realising what she had just said and their circumstances, she stammered,
“s-sorry, it just came out.”

“Don’t worry, Sandy. If we lose our sense of humour, we lose
everything.” He turned to Kim. “Hey babe, can you come and take a look at
Bill’s eyes please? He got flashed by a nuke at the airport. I think his
eyesight is returning but he didn’t want to take the bandages off until a
professional confirmed the diagnosis.”

“Back up a bit. I heard a nuke was dropped on Denver but I
never guessed it was the airport. And you landed there?
All
that radiation.”

“Not a lot we could do about that. We got out of there as
quickly as we could but we didn’t even know the facts until we got close to the
terminal. That poor sod was looking at it when it went off.” He hoped he could
divert the conversation away from their exposure to radiation, it really freaked
him out; before this catastrophe, his worst nightmare was a nuclear war, how
wrong can you get?

“Are you wearing the same shoes, or clothing?” Not one to be
easily deflected, and always the consummate professional, Kimberley was
determined to follow through.

“Only the boots.
I’ve changed
clothing since then.”

“Has everyone who landed with you?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps we should ask.”

Kimberley, kicking into official medic mode turned to the
occupants of the cabin.
“Hi everyone.
Can I have your
attention please?” The room fell silent. “I presume you all know I’m a doctor
and so what I’m about to say comes from personal knowledge and training. I’ve
just been talking to BB about the landing into Denver Airport. Has everyone who
came from his plane changed their clothes and shoes?”

People glanced at each other in confusion. “Why?” Janet
asked hesitantly.

“Because any dust you picked up on your clothes or shoes
might well be radioactive.”

“Oh, God,” Janet responded, realising the obvious. “I’m not
wearing anything from then. In fact I think we’ve all changed since then.
Penny.” She turned to look at the little girl. She still wore the little pink
pony trainers she had picked out in England. “Sweetheart, can I have your shoes
please?”

Crouching down next to the little girl, Janet slipped them
from her feet. Penny’s lower lip quivered. “Sorry love, I need to take them
away, they’re dirty.”

“No they’re not,” she argued in low tones.

“It’s not dirt you can see, but it will hurt you if you keep
them on.” The little girl looked none the wiser and appeared to be on the verge
of crying. Sam, her brother, walked up to her and held her hand. The change was
immediate; Penny acceded to the loss of her favourite shoes. “We have some others
for you in the bedroom. Do you want to go and choose some more?” Janet smiled,
trying to soften the blow. Penny nodded and Sam took her into the bedroom to pick
out her new footwear.

“God, that was horrible,” Janet said, holding the shoes up.
Kimberley looked around and grabbed a plastic bag and held it out for the
shoes. Safely in the bag, she tied it up and put them in an overhead cupboard
out of reach of the children.

“We can dispose of that tomorrow. I want yours too, BB. Now,
thank you. If any of the clothes were saved they need to be separated from the
rest and also anything that was touching them. Sorry if this seems paranoid or draconian
but the risks of keeping the clothes outweigh having to wear the same items for
longer between washes.” Everyone from the plane went to their rooms to do the
clear out. Meanwhile Kimberley crossed the room to Bill. “Hi Bill, my name is
Kimberley. BB asked me to have a look at your eyes, is that alright?”

“Sure is. I didn’t want to take this bandage off until you
could take a look.”

Kimberley gently unwound the bandages, inspecting the flesh
it came into contact with until with extreme caution revealed his eyes. She
stood between the pilot and the light in the room, effectively shading them.
She peered closely, smiling happily as she realised they were not as bad as she
had expected.